Today may be about Digital but tomorrow Brands will have an ever large force to reckon with -- The Internet of Things -- a world of interconnected things, devices, people and everything around us with be able to talk and learn from each other.. imagine with this means for the world of brands, media, marketing and communications... the opportunities are infinite!

1. (FORGET DIGITAL…)
FUTURE OF MEDIA
IS IN THE
“INTERNET OF THINGS”

2. Forget Digital… The Future of Media is in the
“Internet of Things”
Author: Avinash Jhangiani | Blog: http://youarenew.blogspot.com | Twitter: @goodthing
The foundation of the new digital economy is built on the changed
behaviors and attitudes of people who increasingly rely on digital
technologies - primarily enabled by the internet. But the Internet is
continuing to evolve. Initially it was the static Web, and now it is social,
mobile, cloud computing and wireless networks. However beyond the
technology (open, simple and distributed), the Internet's culture of
collaborative innovation keeps having a transformative impact on
companies, communities and institutions.
In 2008, the number of devices connected to the Internet exceeded
the number of people on Earth. And these devices are not just
smartphones and tablets. They are everything around us - from smart
televisions to interactive coke machines, from motivated running shoes
to the interconnected cows, bananas and more.
While social networks (network of connected people) is reaching
saturation, the 'internet of things' (network of connected things, as well
as things and people) is gaining traction. By 2020, there will be 50 billion
things connected to the internet! Every person, animal, and thing could
be connected.

3. Here's a realistic scenario from Cisco's blog:
When billions of things are connected, talking and learning from
each other, imagine what this means for the future of Brands and
the Media industry.
In this growing trend of hyper-connectivity between person-with-
machine and machine-with-machine, potentially everything could
become media. In other words, it will be possible to create a media
channel of (pretty much) any thing, thereby allowing brands to
communicate by owning or paying for these new media touchpoints.
Let’s see how this could become possible.

4. How Every Thing can (potentially) become Media
Firstly let's take a step back and understand that by definition,
Media is anything that can carry a message or be a means of
communications.
As we know, digital devices and technologies (powered by the internet)
enable consumers to connect, engage, consume and experience
brands; but as non-digital, physical objects begin to embed digital
technologies or become digitally-enabled, any “thing” around us can
become media that can be either owned, earned or paid for.
To transform any “thing” into media that can be consumed or
experienced, brands will need to digitize it in a way so that brands are
able to have a conversation with the consumer or interact effectively for
a desired outcome that can be measured and analyzed. With digital
media, this kind of an experience comes with the medium, however for
non-digital media and traditional media, digital technology will need to
be embedded to provide brand engagement.
With Augmented Reality, NFC, RFID, wireless sensors and
other pervasive or ubiquitous technologies starting to bring traction to
the 'internet of things', the vision of transforming any thing into media for
brand connect is becoming a reality. Here are sightings of some
impressive campaigns and more here that leverage the 'internet of
things'. Seems like the Minority Report vision of digital shop assistants
will finally be realized!

5. Bottom-line: Brands need to stop developing isolated channel
strategies, and need to begin tracking and analyzing the underlying
behavioral changes as the internet continues to evolve. Today there is a
smartphone and tablet explosion. What companies need to understand
is that it's not about "mobile", it's about "mobility".
A mobile marketing strategy is not going to cut it! A more holistic,
behavioral approach to address the future of media is needed.
Tomorrow there will be many more devices connected and the 'internet
of things' to deal with. While there will be a plethora of touchpoints for
brands to connect with their consumers, brands will need to use the
right technologies to leverage changing consumer behaviors and
attitudes for brand connect and engagement.
Here are some key questions for media gurus, media owners, brands,
publishers, agencies, advertisers and other constituents of the current
media ecosystem:
• Will the new brand tree be able to withstand the coming explosion
of interconnected things?

6. • As media becomes ubiquitous and interconnected, how should
media strategies be shaped?
• As every thing starts to become media, how will the growing
universe of media channels and platforms be addressed? Will the
media universe be simplified?
• How will this growing trend impact the future of media planning
and buying?
• How will the distribution of ad spends be affected when every
thing becomes media?
• Will brands need to break departmental silos?
• Will agencies and platform vendors partner with each other to
help brands address this trend?
• How will ad networks need to shape up?
• Will this transformation bring about changes in media
measurement and analytics? How?
Irrespective of how the media industry addresses the changing
landscape, one thing for sure is that finally consumers will truly
become the center of all decisions. And it is only a matter of time that
brands will have to adopt a consumer-centric strategy and change their
structure, culture and processes to prosper in the age of digital
consumerism.
Author: Avinash Jhangiani
Blog: Digital Déjà Vu at http://youarenew.blogspot.com
Twitter: @goodthing
About me: http://about.me/avi