The End of Advertising?

Is traditional advertising doomed? That's the valid question raised by a news release sent around a few days ago by IBM. The report, called "The End of Advertising as We Know It," predicts that there will be more change in the advertising industry in the next five years than there has been for the past 50. The whole report is worth your time, but, to me, this is the key paragraph:

To survive in this new reality, broadcasters must change their mass audience mind-set to cater to niche consumer segments, and distributors need to deliver targeted, interactive advertising for a range of multimedia devices. Advertising agencies must experiment creatively, become brokers of consumer insights, and guide allocation of advertising dollars amid exploding choices. All players must adapt to a world where advertising inventory is increasingly bought and sold in open exchanges vs. traditional channels.

Again, it's the kind of thing a lot of us have been saying about the need to reach niche audiences and to understand the immense power of the "long tail" made possible by the Internet. The report also calls for more analytics - a better way to grasp customer behavior and react to it.

Thanks to the Association for Downloadable Media for calling attention to the IBM report. The ADM exists to create exactly the kind of analytical framework that advertisers and marketers are going to need in the coming year in order to reach prospective customers. If it's an area that concerns you or your business, then you ought to be thinking about joining ADM. Follow the link for details.