The end of advertising?

Hi fellows,

There is certain documents which require to be red, digested and acknowledged. There is plenty of information in cyberspace and, more often than not, the difficult part is how to manage the overwhelming amount of it available. Sometimes you have a friend whose job criteria states (or implies) this kind of activity: select and analyze information.

Intelligence agencies recognize the growing importance of what they call “open sources” which are in other words “information available to everyone”. The cyberspace certainly is an open source of superlative dimensions hence when if someone can do the job for you of finding the correct information this is a blessing always to be appreciated.

This long introduction takes me to recommend this link: http://www-03.ibm.com/industries/media/doc/content/bin/media_ibv_advertisingv2.pdf

The heading of the document is “The end of advertising as we know it” and I would recommend it to any one in media, entertainment, etc. The document particularly builds interesting scenarios around the development of mass communications and entertainment, and how is advertising to evolve in this. The turn of the century has created a gap between two concepts of entertainment: linear/passive on one side and active or even proactive on the other. The first concentrates what this study calls “massive passive” which are users of conventional media and entertainment, ie: television, cinema, etc. The second is the new (and not that new) breed of consumers who want to build their own entertainment whenever and wherever they want…or even better, consumers who produce their own entertainment (Prosumers) or want to share it with others. This study puts all this on the same basket under the name of “gadgetiers”.

Gadgetiers, Prosumers, Proactive consumers, whatever it is… the fact is that people from all ages are getting involved in a new type of entertainment which is giving power back to consumers. We think of this, or else some of them do, as youngsters entertainment nevertheless the Wii game console has confirmed that the generation who grew among Tetris, the Commodore, the Amiga as well as countless arcade games is ready to take the challenge.

Interactive entertainment, cross platform integration and the ability it provides to switch off all incoming messages, propaganda and/or advertising will require new methods of getting the message through: micro segmentation, niche content, product placement, etc…but certainly more creativity.

Let´s have fun then.


Best,

JE