branding
Marketing
advertising

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNICATION
As communication evolves, successful brands must evolve with it. Over time, the world has experienced a profound transformation in the flow of information, and with it, a significant change in marketing communications. Earlier, scaleability was the challenge. Today, it is gaining and keeping attention. The oldest form of communication is face-to-face interaction; not very scaleable, but highly interactive, and with the benefit of a generally receptive audience. The advent of broadcasting gave rise to mass communications and traditional advertising as we know it today; very scaleable, but non-interactive. With the growth of broadcasting came a new challenge: limited attention, as audiences found themselves overwhelmed by advertising messaging and communication. Today, in the era of social media, interactions and discussions occur in open forums, giving all the ability to find, read, or join them. Though beneficial in many respects, social media creates a high volume of communication 'noise', the enormity of which, makes it hard for brands to be heard by consumers. The key to consumer attention today is the realization that advertising serves only the brands, whereas entertainment serves consumers. To keep pace with the evolution of communication, brands need to connect entertainment, brand messages, and technology to break through the noise. Sparking conversations and getting others to tell their story is the new key to consumer attention.