The evolution to a holistic approach to marketing is the logical trend as consumers now consume media in a much different way than they did 5 years ago and will 5 years from now.

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I think a lot of people enjoy being off the grid and feel like they are not missing anything. Content must be good. I see a lot of people doing things with very low production value thinking they can compete with brands who do it well.

Rob: A holistic approach has been logical for awhile. Some follow this, others? But your point on changing consumption habits is important. I think we silo “Gens” and really need to go deeper into target analysis to understand how consumers/brand participants interact with products/services.

There have been a ton of changes in the last 5 years as you note.

Dr. Wright: We’re definitely dealing with digital addiction. I’m reading a book right now that suggests computer technology was not designed to be always on. We shouldn’t be either. It’s tough for some…especially since technology seemingly facilitates it.

Content is critical too as you suggest. Re: low vs/ high production value. Some of that I think is from the consumer generated field. Expectations are different when it comes to quality. The need to step up is blurry. When must you get professional in this regard? It’s a great point.

Thanks to both of you for adding your take.

^Kevin Dugan, on behalf of Empower MediaMarketing
@empowermm
@prblog

Another aspect to keep in mind is that consumers now “have skin in the game,” in many cases as they are producing their own media. Production values may be low, but immediacy can help counterbalance that. I speak from experience on this as my own efforts began at the amateur level doing citizen journalism. A few years of that netted me my first pro contract and I’ve supported myself solely off of it for over three years now.

Think about this: five years ago YouTube was in its infancy and few knew about it. Five years ago the primary social media was blogging, with a side of Flickr. Five years ago smartphones and app stores were unheard of. Tech moves fast driving changes in consumption habits with it. The end user cares about accessing what he or she wants in a fast and easy fashion.

Nice video, informative. It is becoming obvious, that with all the connectivity, we are a people getting closer to the 24/7 work week.

Thanks for the feedback Jim. The 24/7 work week is certainly a danger. I think part of it is the technology. Part of it is the flexibility of work schedules coming back to haunt us.

Regardless, great point. Cheers.

Consumers are, more and more, becoming “social network agnostic.” What I mean is that people are evolving from “look what I found on Facebook” to “look at what I found.” Regardless of the social network, or channel, that is the deliverer of the content, I’ve noticed that people are focusing on the value of the content as it relates not just to their lives, but their friends’ lives as well. Maybe that always existed to some degree, but I think it’s more wide-spread now and is a reflection of the “nochannel” concept. Consumers are integrating social into their daily lives just as they do with eating, sleeping, etc. Just one guy’s observation… do you all agree this is what’s happening?

Jason: I definitely think it’s all becoming more seamless in regards to social media.

Platforms like Facebook are doing their best to integrate with other sites. And they also have apps so they’re mobile-friendly. Facebook moved to “Like” instead of “Fan” because it was easier for users (a lightweight user action). Sharing tools have always been ubiquitous, but now curating tools are making sharing even more widespread.

All of this makes it more seamless for the user and they’re less concerned about where and more concerned about what. Interestingly enough, all of this convergence simply reinforces content is king. Content must be enabled to shift across networks and platforms and sites. And it must be designed in a way this is easy to do. But the end-user just doesn’t see this side of it anymore.

Thanks for the observation.

– Kevin Dugan, @prblog

The advertising and media world has become even more fragmented with the popularity of the internet, social media and digital. If there ever was a generation gap this is it. I see a very clear line between how  the 18-34, 25-54 and 35-64 demos intake  their media and advertising, especially how they respond to it.  As a radio marketing consultant I am constantly educating  my customers on the value of a media mix. That mix is different according to the demo the client is trying to target. The main focus as always is trying to get them not to put all their eggs in one basket. 

The only constant in media is change.  As an industry we embrace change daily, whether its the evolution from rotary phones to cellular phones or the move from TV as it is watched today to the future TV, where we will be able to interact with our friends while we watch TV and at the same time buy the clothing Matt Lauer is wearing while hosting the Today Show.  I applaud Empower for embracing this constant and building a platform to have the discussion.