Most marketers are feeling the squeeze. AI tools, tighter budgets, and organizational reshuffling have shifted many of us into roles that look more like operations than strategy. We’re busy managing workflows, policing compliance, or producing at scale — but the very thing that makes marketing valuable, creativity, is getting edged out.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: time itself has become the real luxury good in marketing.

Why SEO Felt Like a Luxury — and Still Does

Back in an earlier Enterprising Minds episode, we debated whether SEO is table stakes or a luxury good. The argument went like this: if it’s fundamental, you invest early, like plumbing. But for many companies, SEO has been treated like a luxury accessory — the first to be cut in a downturn. Leaders treat SEO, but marketing in general like a luxury good - nice to have, but expendable – because marketing and SEO take patience, curiosity, and a deep understanding of your customers. These qualities don’t always play nicely with quarterly metrics and weekly sales goals.

That tension hasn’t gone away. If anything, AI-powered search and content automation have intensified it. Quick wins now dominate the conversation. Why invest in long-term, nuanced SEO when you can spin up thousands of AI-written pages tomorrow?

But here’s the problem: treating SEO (and by extension, marketing strategy) like a disposable accessory ignores its real purpose. SEO isn’t about ranking for keywords. It’s about understanding how people discover, evaluate, and trust. It’s about creating digital real estate where your expertise lives. That’s not a dupe handbag. That’s the genuine article.

Time as the New Luxury

The deeper challenge today isn’t just budget cuts — it’s the erosion of creative space. When your calendar is back-to-back and your brain is wired to project dashboards, when exactly are you supposed to think?

Time is where creativity lives. It’s where you follow your curiosity, ask better questions, and explore the customer insights that no dashboard can hand you. Curiosity, play, and reflection aren’t indulgences. They’re prerequisites for the kind of creativity that separates forgettable campaigns from the ones people actually remember.

When time disappears, so does originality. Marketing becomes efficient but also flat. Think of the recent rise of “dupes” (faux designer bags, makeup, or apparel). Sure, they look similar at first glance. But you and I both know they don’t carry the same weight. They lack the craftsmanship, the detail, the intangible aura that makes the original worth paying for.

Great marketing, like true luxury goods, requires an investment. It’s not about speed or volume. It’s about the space to create something enduring.

Why It Matters

• Creativity is the differentiator. AI can scale production, but it can’t replicate genuine human insight, humor, or emotional resonance.

• Without time, curiosity dies. And without curiosity, you stop noticing the subtle things your customers actually care about.

• Customer knowledge comes from time. Building real understanding — through conversations, research, or simply observing — doesn’t happen in 15-minute slots.

• Without reflection, strategy slips. Operational efficiency can keep the trains running, but it won’t tell you if you’re on the wrong track.

• Curiosity fuels innovation. When you have time to explore outside your immediate KPIs, you find connections competitors miss.

What to Do About It

1. Audit your time. Where are you trading deep work for shallow ops tasks? Could AI take over more of the admin, so you regain thinking time?

2. Redefine value. Stop treating creativity as “extra.” Just as luxury goods hold value over time, creativity compounds. Position brainstorming, testing, and exploring as brand investments, not indulgences.

3. Protect curiosity. Block weekly “unstructured” time to read, test, or observe your customers. Treat it as sacred.

4. Anchor in fundamentals. Whether it’s SEO, customer interviews, or creative workshops, argue for them as foundational, not luxury line items.

In marketing, your true competitive edge isn’t how many AI tools you’ve stacked or how fast you publish. It’s whether you have the time, space, and curiosity to create something real.

The next time your leadership team asks for more efficiency, remember marketing isn’t a dupe. It’s a craft. And the rarest, most valuable input isn’t money or AI horsepower.

It’s time.