UPDATED (4/13) -- Link to Bob Garfield's "Chaos Scenario" article.
In this week’s Advertising Age, Bob Garfield examines what happens if the traditional marketing model collapses before a better alternative is established. In the “Chaos Scenario” piece, Bob joins our chorus in singing the exuberance for the “democratized, consumer-empowered, bottom-up” world of micro media.
The article is far too deep and wide-ranging to adequately summarize it on a blog posting.
Good thing Bob recorded a 12-minute synopsis which recently aired on NPR’s All Things Considered. Listen to the story by clicking here (.wma file). (A transcript will be available on the afternoon of April 13 at onthemedia.org.)
While I will not attempt to summarize the article, I will share a few interesting takeaways.
Rishad Tobaccowala, president of Starcom IP, made a brilliant observation about the shortcomings of how we still try to measure advertising. In the article Rishad is quoted as saying,
“The [ad] industry’s key currency is basically reach, frequency, exposure and cost per thousand. And where the currency out to be is about outcomes, engagement and effectiveness. Because right now all I’m doing is I’m measuring how cheaply or how expensively I’m buying the pig. I’m not figuring out whether or not the hot dog tastes good.”
Right on Rishad! Reach/Frequency is so yesterday and Remarkability/Fanaticism is so today.
Rishad also made some keen observations about how the fall of mass media will bring about the disappearance of economies of scale. Bob Garfield writes,
“The whole point of new media is small ball. Quit playing for the three-run homer and amass the singles and doubles. Because, says Starcon’s Tobaccoowala, ‘the key thing sis the economies of scale is going to disappear. That’s really what the issue is. Our business [advertising] has been built on the economies of scale. And instead we’re going to go into the economies of re-aggregation. Which is how do you get 10, 20, 30, 40 thousand people instead of talking in 250 million and making them into 12 and 30 million dollar segments. How do you re-aggregate one at a time the tens of thousands?’”
Micro media will definitely redefine how we marketers look at cost-per-thousand figures. Is it time we readjust our media math thinking to cost-per-individual?
Speaking of individuals, Garfield sums up the impact micro media will have on society by writing,
“It is a beautiful thing: the total democratization of media, combined with the total addressability of marketing communications. We, the people, cease to be demographics. We become individuals again.”
Right on Bob. Right on.
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