In the old media, lines were clear, commercials and ads were just that. They were separate. As you know, many lines have either disappeared or are blurred. And ‘product placement’ is becoming much more common.

It also raises a question or two. Is this film art? Is it advertising? Can companies ‘control’ their ‘image’ or ‘brand’ in new media? Should they?

As a former creative director and copywriter, he knows the advertising format well. Richard was not hired by the company to do this. It’s his idea. And now with YouTube, he can ‘broadcast’ it without client approval, since it’s considered art. Pretty cool. The ‘Creatives’ have now also escaped the broadcast prison. And Richard is using the commercial format to make a social comment. Or is it the other way around?

Companies no longer have to guess, or research, what the consumers ‘want’ and think. As consumers instantly communicate with each other, through emails, text messages, blogs, tweets, and even, shockingly, face to face. Through various means they can tell companies much more than some companies might like. There’s no place to hide.

Sitting in a big corporate meeting several years ago, it was crystal clear to me that since the broadcast model has fallen apart, the best thing that a company can do is simply make a fantastic product, and just stand back. The consumer can take care of a good part of the marketing. Imagine the benefits if the efficiencies were passed along.

After all, with the new media, consumers are creating the research, the advertising and the ‘broadcast’ media all by themselves. The audience is now the marketing engine. And the resources that used to be allotted to marketing can be put to use in product development. The interaction between the consumer and the product, or service, defines the personality of the company.

There is no way to hide from a slowdown in the economy. Here is the chart prepared by PubMatic indicating a downturn in online ad revenues for the bigger players. And good news for the smaller publishers. 

And the good advice Rafeev Goel gives in this video is just basic marketing 101.

But as usual with any downturn, there are lots of opportunities popping up. This is usually the time when those with the money can grab market share. And often a good time to start a new business.

Some of these folks used to be the renegades of marketing, and media, the ones who had clients quaking in their boots at the audacity of their brash minds. 

And in the blink of an eye they have become the old fogies, seemingly unwilling and unable to change. They are aware that the landscape has radically changed, all the landmarks are unreliable, and more importantly, the cash is not flowing from the usual spigots.

But wait, there’s hope. It appears that ad spending is not doing so badly. At least for the holding companies. Those clever creatures could read the spigots and started to acquire new media agencies to balance the decline of the old media agencies. They call it organic growth — their single digits. While the online media lobs along in plump doubles.