Young Meets “Old”

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Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with some of my agency contacts which is always interesting.  Agencies tend to  be full of very young minds beginning their careers and trying to learn as much as they can regarding facets of the media business that they think will help their careers.

One such young gentleman that I am working with is doing it right.  While his counterparts are focusing on web buys and fighting to do anything BUT traditional placements, he is volunteering for the traditional jobs to round out his knowledge base.  Gen Y and recent college grads are quick to grab on to the web almost as though it is a security blanket.  Web is no doubt an integral part of any media plan – it is not the only part.

TV, magazines, radio and newspapers didn’t go away when the internet came around nor are they going away anytime soon (although the future of newspapers is of great debate these days).  Each time a new advertising medium has been introduced, it is absorbed into the existing whole which is exactly what happened with the web – marketers didn’t stop spending money on print, they just reallocated funds to include the web.

What is happening at the moment is a greater connectivity between media mediums which is exciting as the media and marketers experiment and push old boundaries.  The same 30 second commercial that is shown on TV can be placed in a boombox ad unit on a web site, within an ad in a digital or iPad edition of a magazine and beyond.  Soon, all forms of media will cohesively merge to enhance viewer experience, customer engagement, and expand total impressions by being anywhere/anytime.

Where clients and agencies are currently treating each media channel as a separate entity, the growing anywhere/anytime mentality will change the single minded thinking and become a truly integrated multi-platform buy. Looking at a media plan as a collective whole will increase efficiencies in creative and total placement spend by taking advantage of frequency discounts with media outlets.  Media companies will be challenged with bringing clients and agencies custom multi platform marketing ideas that go across every extension of their brands.

Let the fun begin!  Recent college grads, take note.

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