Why Obvious Marketing is Dying (and What’s Taking Its Place)

Big CTAs. Landing pages shouting “Sign up now.” Everything optimized to convert — not to connect.

That era… feels over. Or at least, fading fast.

We’re now in a strange but exciting new phase , where people don’t just want a tool. They want a feeling. They want a story. They want to know why this product exists, who made it, and how it fits into their weird little corner of the internet.

I call this the Post-Hype Era of Marketing.

A few shifts I’ve noticed:

Obvious marketing = ignored marketing. If it feels like an ad, we scroll past.

Narrative-first > feature-first. The product is secondary to the message.

AI tools aren’t just being sold they’re being felt. You’re not marketing what it does, but how it thinks.

Weird wins. Story > specs. Humor > hustle.

I’d love to hear from makers, marketers, and founders here:

1) Have you changed how you launch or talk about your product?

2) Are we now selling ideas and identities more than features?

3) What product felt different to you recently and why?