Mass Media Mindset
It will come as little surprise to you, the reader of this blog, that Mass Media is not so massive any longer. It is, apparently, a shock to the Mass Media outlets, however. They seemed to be stunned that ad revenues are declining. If emerging media has done nothing else, it has created sub-segments of segments and made one-to-one marketing much more real.
With CBS, News Corp and Time Warner all posting big losses, and with the CEO of Disney warning that the good old days of Mass Media are long gone and may not return, the passing of Mass Media is getting more attention than ever. Will the mass outlets completely die? I doubt it, but the web allows us as consumers and us as marketer’s to help define our niche markets as never before. It also allows us to test and determine relevance, which means sales. The game has changed. No longer is media in charge, the customer/prospect is. They define the terms as to what will be effective and how and when they will respond.
Look to Amazon as a prime example of how this works. I don’t recall seeing a Amazon TV commercial recently (or ever), nor do I recall hearing a radio ad for them. Yet, they are making money when most are not. It’s because they test. They use the web, email, some direct mail, and more email to communicate. They also remain visible, from a Mass Media vantage point, with good use of PR. While Google gets most of the press, I feel Amazon is the company most media outlets should study. They will learn a lot. And, I do mean, A LOT.
