In any industry , we come across disruptive events. In advertising , the first disruptive event was the advent  of the TV inthe1940s . Thereafter , we had just incremental changes – print to video . It was all an era of mass advertising . Another disruptive event is the advent of digital advertising . It is a far bigger shift than the previous three shifts – print to radio to TV – put together . It is not just a change in the media – but a change from the mass media to personalised media . It is the beginning of customised ads – a different phase of creativity and distribution . The ads are tailored to user needs . Thus shaving gel ads will be shown to men only  and diaper ads to new mothers . The old media will continue to co-existwith the new media but most innovations will happen in digital space . A search engine may figure out an individual’s personality and preferences and may project the relevant ads to him .

Traditionally , an Agency  has the creative , production and media departments . Media buying is related to radio , TV  , print or a mix of them . Digital buying is not so simple . There are display ads , search or campaigns on YouTube , Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and so on . Each has a different social graph.Creative and media will work together, along with the techies . There will be emphasis on user data. It will influence the structure of the agencies.

Nissan Mexico’s launch of the Pathfinder was done in digital space.In India, there was YouTube campaign around Lifebuoy.

The chase for the ‘holygrail for advertising’ has begun – one ad for every individual . The surface has just been scratched  . The next ten years are important .

 

 

TV in the 1940s . Thereafter , we had just incremental changes – print to video