Contemplating the costs of customization, personalization, ad avoidance, and ad blindness

Rob Norman, Global Chief Digital Officer at GroupM and member of the BIC Advisory Board has written a post about the "now and next of digital development as it affects advertising, marketing, and media." Norman presents the ad industry with a dual challenge: 1) age shift: "by 2020 Millennials will represent 50% of the West's population. Half the world's population will be under the age of 30 by the same date," and 2) the "hyper-fragmentation and attention deficit" that increasingly characterizes entertainment, media (and thereby advertising) consumption.

In an era in which the business models of content distribution, and advertising, are threatened, if not shattered, Norman worries about the future of brands and branding (as we know them today): "awareness [broad awareness by a wide public] remains critical to brand health and the creation of demand which, in turn, depends on a strong mass media."  Norman poses the question -- What if, soon, there is no "mass media"?

Brands and mass media co-evolved in the second half of the twentieth century. Without that mass media, what's the future of brands?

Check out Rob Norman's post, here.  Also, follow Norman on tumblr.