Welcome to the Digital Economy!

Respondents to the McLuhan postings, and others, may be interested in Eric Koch’s short story about McLuhan, which has been posted on the Stories page. It deals with some of the issues raised.

• • • • • •

Source: Soniya Monga, Global Marketing Solutions, Account Manager, LinkedIn Canada, writing in The Mark (December 31)

In 2008, the highly revered business publication Advertising Age named Barack Obama Marketer of the Year. Why? Because in Obama, the world witnessed unmatched community building, a first-hand belief in the web as an ecosystem with vast potential, and an ability to think about the future as digitally empowered. Welcome to the new creative economy – where the era of eating, sleeping, and breathing all things digital has arrived.

With people across all levels of society becoming fragmented in their purchasing patterns, coupled with the changing age of information, now more than ever it’s apparent that investment in digital dollars is critical to the success of any commercial and consumer relationship. According to reports by eMarketer, online advertising spending in Canada will pass $3 billion by 2011, which is roughly triple its valuation from 2006.

The commoditization of online space is gaining momentum at an unprecedented rate. From a consumer perspective, new social- and community-powered techniques and methods of engagement are very well accepted, because they allow – even demand – complete transparency from businesses and corporations. It’s no surprise, then, that the recession is fueling the move from offline action to online innovation. Given this shift, it’s imperative to note that aged relationship-building principles continue to be relevant: companies need to find the alignment between revenue dollars and the emotional connection of their customers in order to make a lasting impact and resonate at scale.

For the first time in history, the number of weekly hours spent on the web (18.1) is higher than the number spent watching television (16.9).