Says Forrester's Josh Bernoff: "If you're in advertising, you'd better learn to speak digital, because that's the way the world is going."
Just look at this crystal-clear chart:
Radio's not in this picture. Nor is any other traditional ad medium. But note the rising percentages at the bottom of the above chart and ask yourself, where is that increase coming from?
Josh continues:
"The result is that digital, which will be about 12% of overall advertising spend in 2009, is likely to grow to about 21% in five years. Along the way overall advertising budgets will decline. This is huge. It means we are all digital marketers now, since digital is at the center of many campaigns anyway."
Here's the square deal, radio.
We have to see the world differently – the way the consumer sees it. Not the way our owners, investors, and bosses do.
We need to restructure our companies with that nouveau consumer in mind.
And we need to do it soon.
My feeling is that the majority of broadcasters underestimate the magnitude of what's happening – or at least the magnitude of how they need to adjust to what's happening.
We must rethink radio from the ground up.
While we have ground to stand on.