The old-school marketing funnel—awareness to consideration to conversion—is officially broken. Today’s consumers don’t follow a straight path. They scroll, stream, search, and shop on their own terms, across a fragmented digital landscape. That’s why the Boston Consulting Group’s Influence Map is quickly replacing the outdated funnel as the go-to model for understanding how people make decisions.
At MarketStorm, we align with this modern view—and we use programmatic advertising to power every step of the nonlinear journey.
The Fall of the Funnel
The traditional funnel assumes consumers move in one direction. But reality looks more like a chaotic dance: a Google search here, a product page visit there, followed by a YouTube video, then a scroll through social. Planning media in a rigid funnel means you miss moments that matter—and waste budget on touchpoints that don’t.
Enter the Influence Map
Rather than stages, BCG’s Influence Map focuses on behaviors—what people actually do:
- Stream: Passive content consumption on platforms like CTV, OTT, and streaming audio.
- Scroll: Exploration via social media feeds and native content.
- Search: Intent-driven queries that signal specific interests or needs.
- Shop: High-engagement behaviors like browsing, cart activity, and transactions.
These behaviors don’t happen in order—and influence flows in every direction. The brands that win are those that show up consistently, with relevance and repetition, across the full landscape.
Programmatic: The Engine of Influence
Programmatic advertising is built for this. It’s omnichannel, data-driven, and adaptive—making it the perfect fit for today’s consumer behavior. Instead of targeting a stage, we target the behavior in real time.
How Programmatic Aligns with the Four Influence Behaviors
STREAM – High Opportunity
Channels: CTV, OTT, YouTube, Podcasts, Streaming Audio
Why It Works: Programmatic enables deep storytelling with precision targeting based on behavior and context.
Example: A smart thermostat brand runs ads during a documentary on sustainable living.
SCROLL – High Opportunity
Channels: Native, Display, Social Extensions
Why It Works: Lightweight, curiosity-driven creative fits naturally into content feeds, creating subtle but effective nudges.
Example: A native ad promoting a solar case study appears in a home improvement article feed.
SEARCH – Moderate Opportunity
Channels: Search retargeting, contextual display, native
Why It Works: Reinforce brand presence after a search, especially with educational or visual content that complements PPC.
Example: A user searches “furnace repair” and later sees an ad with a comparison guide or how-to video.
SHOP – Moderate to High Opportunity
Channels: E-commerce sites, product pages, CRM retargeting
Why It Works: Dynamic ads driven by CRM or browsing behavior can personalize the experience and close the loop.
Example: A shopper who abandoned their cart or online scheduler sees tailored product ads the next day.
Final Takeaways: Influence Over Funnel
Here’s what we recommend:
- Stop thinking in terms of stages. Start planning around behaviors.
- Map your brand’s influence across stream, scroll, search, and shop.
- Use programmatic to test, learn, and scale with agility.
- Layer in AI for real-time insights and execution.
Influence happens everywhere, all at once. The brands that succeed are the ones that show up—not just when a consumer is ready to buy, but all along the messy, magical journey that leads there.
The funnel is over. Welcome to the era of influence at scale.
Ready to Rethink Your Funnel?
At MarketStorm, we specialize in helping brands move beyond outdated models and into modern, data-driven strategies that align with real consumer behavior. Whether you’re in home services, retail, or another industry, our AI-powered programmatic approach ensures you show up where it matters—when it matters.
👉 Let’s map your influence strategy. Contact us today to start optimizing your ad spend for the customer journey that actually exists.