This post originally appeared on MarketingMag.com.au in January 2009

The dawning of the digital age has created much hand-wringing among traditional media providers and the advertisers who feed them. A plethora of new options has seen rapid erosion of the once mighty traditional media power base.

The press is under grave threat as consumers can quickly and freely access specialist news content online at any time. ‘The death of press’ was perhaps viewed as a hysterical prediction by digital enthusiasts only 12 months ago, but is now actually looking like reality given the financial failure of many print media groups in the US recently.

Radio and television are also facing serious challenges as new generations of consumers decide to seek entertainment elsewhere, at their leisure

But probably the biggest threat to the traditional media and the advertising industry which supports it, is the fact that modern consumers are bypassing the ads altogether thanks to digital technology.

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In a first for Newcastle and The Hunter Valley, The Post newspaper has launched an online version of their free weeklies.

The Post Digital Edition has just launched, providing readers and advertisers with additional opportunities. Each new edition launches 9am each Tuesday.

Advertisers now have the opportunity to link directly form their advertisement to their website, and have their advertisements be seen for much longer in the archived editions.

New online advertising packages will be available from April 2009.

The only negative is that the reader system is flash based and therefore not searchable. The Post are missing a massive opportunity to create a long tail of searchable information that would help them and their customers.

But overall, congratulations to The Post for taking a leap into the 21st Century and good luck with this new initiative.

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Following on from our joint effort promoting The Moggy Awards, Kate and the team at Marketing Magazine have been kind enough to invite me to write for them this year. My first article was featured on their website this week and is a topic very close to my heart as the owner of an advertising agency:

What will agencies do when everyone can bypass advertising?

Please take the time to have a read and leave a comment if you like.

Thanks

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A few weeks ago I posted Why My Kids Will be the Death of Traditional Media. Only today we were explaining why to a few clients so they could understand our enthusiasm for new media options and alternative marketing thinking.

Seems that the funeral march may have already started with Gen Y consumers according to uber Gen Y blogger and media observer Zac Martin.

This week Zac has rather eloquently posted his Gen Y media  consumption habits. Media producers and advertisers take note.

Zac’s post has generated plenty of comments and discussion. Not all agree with him. Nor do I advocate abandoning traditional media channels when trying to reach Gen Y or their kid sisters and brothers. But the point is, where there’s smoke there’s fire. A massive transition has commenced from the dominance of Boomer media to the imminent predominance of Gen Y (and beyond) media.

Your marketing mix must start including alternatives to the traditional media channels because they are loosing relevance.

16 Jan: Follow-up

I asked Zac how we advertisers and marketers should reach Gen Y consumers who don’t use traditional media. He didn’t have an immediate answer to this obviously crucial dilemna but he did point me to a light-hearted set of potential online business models to consider. Zac also said he has some more suggestions coming. Stay tuned.

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originally uploaded by capn madd matt

The last 6 months of 2008 were dominated by talk of recession, economic woes and the continue transition in media consumption from traditional to new media. If all the talk is true, that this year is going to be a tough one for business and that traditional media might be seriously under siege, then what are marketers doing about it? How are you going to tackle the task of marketing your business during tough times and a changing media landscape?

What is your media mix in 2009? Will it be the same as last year or will you be reassessing your marketing options? I’d really like to know, so please comment below.

Certainly, the media mix that our agency considers for our clients is considerably different than it was 3 or 4 years ago. While an integrated campaign once started at TV and traveled through press, radio and maybe outdoor, in 2009 the mix appears to be very different.

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Source: Nikki MacLennan, Adnews.com.au

National advertisers are predicting a 2.4% decrease in above-the-line ad spend for 2009 – the biggest decrease ever predicted, according to Starcom MediaVest’s annual Media Futures report.

Only 12 months ago, advertisers predicted their budgets would grow by 7.3%.

Starcom’s report, launched in 1985, paints a bleak but “unsurprising” picture for advertising spend in 2009, said CEO John Sintras.

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Don’t underestimate the seriousness of the current international financial crisis. I am no economic expert,

The Fugitive - Train Wreck 1993 by Jerry Jaynes

but I am convinced that we have yet to see the full extent of the train wreck that is the sub-prime and subsequent liquidity crisis that is beginning to wreak havoc on the World’s financial systems.

Even following the legislative approval of the US $800billion bailout, we are still standing on the precipice of the most serious economic downturn of our generation.

Ian Verrender, financial columnist at the Sydney Morning Herald warns:

There is no understating the seriousness of the situation in which we now find ourselves. This is a historic moment, a pivotal point in global affairs. And no one can really tell where we are headed right now.

As an agency owner, employer and primary source of family income, my focus is on how this financial crisis, and possible world recession will affect the industries in which I operate. It has been playing on my mind for some time now and I have drawn some conclusions that may be worth discussing.

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Source: Rachel Browne, Sydney Morning Herald

THE traditional 30-second television advertisement is under threat as viewers use new technology to skip ads and companies increasingly turn to product placement to spruik their brands.

Australia is the world’s third-largest paid product-placement market after the US and Brazil and advertisers are expected to spend almost $280 million on product placement in Australian television programming this year, custom media research firm PQ Media says.

The trend for product placement on TV shows is partly due to the introduction of personal video recorders such as TiVo and Foxtel iQ, which make it easier for viewers to avoid commercial breaks.

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Source: Mark Chenery, Adnews.com.au

Advertisers spent $1.524 billion on online advertising in the 12 months to June 2008, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) latest Online Advertising Expenditure Report.

The report shows strong growth across all categories of online spend during the 2007 to 2008 financial year.

In the 12 months to June 2008, search and directories advertising remained the fastest growing category of online spend – up 34% to $706 million.

General display advertising was up 23% over the 12 month period to $411 million, while online classifieds grew 21% to $407 million.

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Source: Lara Sinclair, The Australian

TRADITIONAL media such as television, print and radio will lose 11 advertising share points in the next five years, slipping to 70per cent of what will be a $15billion industry by 2012.

The change, predicted in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Media and Entertainment Outlook, will be driven by the internet, whose share will increase from 12 per cent last year to 21.5 per cent over the same period.

While the report made it clear the industry was falling from a peak of 11.5 per cent growth last year, it predicted a soft landing compared with the uncertain general economic conditions.

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