The End Of Media As We Know It?

• by Cori Ferman , June 3, 2011

Maybe Harold Camping was actually on to something. Perhaps there actually will be an end to the world as we know it ... as it pertains to media; what he was predicting could have been a nod to the first sign of a looming Mediapocalypse.

The veil has been lifted, and brands must enhance their approaches between now and October (the news date for the end of the world) or they're not going to be as successful connecting with Millennials.

Being social or social networking is not limited to Facebook as one brand cleverly demonstrates in its new write-on label demo. Mobile communications are not restricted to a phone, smart or not so smart. And digital communications are not limited to a computer, especially if it's one of those nifty new Motorola devices. Like celery is to peanut butter and ranch dressing, all of these are simply delivery devices.

And all of these devices function together. There are no separate worlds. No digital world. No mobile world. No social world, etc. They're all real, and as U2 so passionately proclaims, they're all "Oneeeee."

This single world provides a variety of exciting, ever-evolving ways of connecting. These connections do not take place separately, they take place simultaneously. And they take place all the time. In fact, with Millennials, they never really stop. As Marshall McLuhan "told" Wired, "The real message of media today is ubiquity. It is no longer something we do, but something we are part of."

For example, look at how big that part was last night:

After work, I watched TV to find out if Scotty McCreery was going to win on "American Idol" while flipping through Brides magazine. I scanned a QR code on hair style ideas for an upcoming wedding during commercials, while browsing Twitter updates about Scotty online and texting with a friend about her airline debacle. Then, after some emailing, I did some Facebook stalking to see if any of my friends are as fond of McCreery.

Millennials will be fond of brands, and brands will remain relevant for now by investing money and resources into learning about and using the myriad connections technology has made possible. However, to be relevant in the future, their approaches need some tweaking. Spending X amount toward only one or two delivery devices is a disconnect, literally. It's like unearthing a global campaign only focusing on a message translating appropriately in two countries, when there are some many more connections that could have been made.

To survive the Mediapocalypse and continue to connect with Millennials, focus efforts on the ubiquity of media. No fragmenting. Invest in learning how to craft messages across it, simultaneously, to create relevant connections. And, think about the many ways we can be and already are a part of media.