Brandweek has an interesting lead story in its Outlook 2006 roundup that addresses the continuing media shift that I've been discussing.
They state that "one theory" about the continuing digitization of media content and the power that consumers have as a result of technological advances (i.e. delivery /distribution options) will cause advertising to lose its power and make word-of-mouth more important.
Mass advertising will not disappear altogether because with enough time, money and impressions it will continue to influence people to change their behavior, but indeed mass advertising will continue to lose power and become less effective at influencing mass audiences.
Why?
Mostly because "mass" audiences who are willing to expose themselves to advertising simply will not exist as such anymore.
This will lead us in a direction that is fundamentally better. Brands will have to be built on true benefits and our communications will have to genuinely appeal to audiences that we know a great deal about because only then will they even listen to our messages. Knowledge about consumers will be king and brands will have to be built from the top down.
Let's just hope that the folks at the top realize that the real power is knowledge at the grass-roots.
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