Marketers’ strategic responsibilities are eroding away to nothing

Happisburgh is a delightful village on the far north-east tip of Norfolk. It’s an ancient spot. Recent archaeological discoveries suggest human habitation goes back at least 800,000 years. Outside of Africa, its little beach is the site of the oldest recorded human footprints.

Despite this ancient glory, it looks to be a place that is running out of time. The little village, which with delicious irony is pronounced in the abbreviated form of “Hais-bro”, is about to disappear. According to researchers it will be the British town worst hit by the global rise in sea levels.

The village will lose around 100m of coastal land over the next two decades – the equivalent of two football pitches. Almost 40 homes have already been lost to the encroaching sea. Some 10,000 more will eventually be at risk.

Marketers should visit while they can, because Happisburgh offers a perfect metaphor of the current state of modern marketing.