IF YOU STEP BACK FROM THE MADNESS for a moment, you’ll actually be able to see evolution progressing before your eyes. Seriously, this doesn’t happen too often. Normally, evolution occurs at a snail’s pace and we don’t often get the opportunity to actually see it in action. But take a look at what’s happening today, and you’ll get a good glimpse. Newspapers all over the world are letting staff with pencils behind their ears go as they reinvent themselves online.
One of the latest casualties of this medium shift is the Philadelphia Inquirer, who had to reduce it’s workforce by 15% last month. What is happening? Don’t people read newspapers anymore? Well, yes; but more and more are reading them online! And advertisers, who pay the newsroom salaries, fully comprehend the shift of their market from traditional print to online content. The Ford Motor Company estimates that 80 percent of their customers are shopping online today, many even arranging test drives over the Internet.
Because of this online shift, Ford has allocated 30 percent of its $1 Billion advertising budget to non-traditional media, with half of that going directly online. “With the explosion of broadband, it makes more sense for us to continue to increase our spend where we can find our customers,” said Linda Perry-Lube, Ford car communications manager.
David Verklin, CEO of Carat Americas, predicts that advertisers will spend 15 to 20 percent of their budgets on the Internet in the next 3 years, up from 5 to 8 percent.
This is exciting stuff! To witness evolution with your own eyes, start by reading At Newspapers, Some Clipping
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