Rewiring:

Well, I still read a lot of advertising and tech mags. I'm not all about the field and pavement. ya'know. But where have the viewers gone?...After watching my own viewing habits stray more to cable channels and online viewing, I know I'm not in the same boat.

So regardless of whatever your viewing habits are, it was good to read Frank Rose's article "The Lost Boys" in the August issue of Wired Magazine. Rose interviewed a bunch of experts on how the advertising world is adapting to the changing world of the 18-34 age bracket. Marketing to that bracket is now like changing a tire on a slow moving vehicle...No one can get the common male in that group to peer at their product or pitch. With online gaming, iPods, websurfing, online fantasy leagues, cell phones, and work demands, who can give marketers the time of day?

The article also makes a good point that the 18-34 male has become smarter with the "Millennials" entering the segment. Millennials are faster, and they're used to companies contanstly pitching to them. So, they're able to distinguish between when they're targeted for ads and when they're not. There's 70 Million Millennials out there compared with 76 Million baby boomers and 41 Million Gen Xers. You better believe that the Millennials are going to be targeted, and marketers are trying to target this group with embedded ads in gaming, online sites, and experiential marketing.

Here's a great comment from Jeff Cole, who runs UCLA's Internet Project. After running a study on net users viewing habits, he found that net users watch TV five hours less than per week. After a quick survey of people who do watch TV, he found that only 5 percent of the TV viewers pay attention to the ads anyway, which leads him to say in Rose's article that "The business model of television, which is to deliver viewers to advertisers," he declares, "is as troubled as that of the music industry."

I wholeheartedly agree....

Good to see Rishad Tobaccowala, VP of Interactive Media at Starcom MediaVest Group. I don't know the guy well, but he was the first person that I called on when I was in media sales at eGroups. My former boss and good friend, Steven Comfort, knew him well, and I have to say that was a good call to start a sales job on.

Damn, I need to get back in the mix because everything will be more interactive. That's good people...that's good...Believe me...With me saying that. I think I'm feeling a comeback coming my way.

Yo, what's up with Teddy Atlas drawing comparsions with boxing styles to Dean Smith's Four Corner's Offense...That's tight-tight....I've always liked Teddy. Talk about someone who needs to get back in the biz!

Back to the mags,
IronDog