Persuasive advertising theory a century ago had marketers trying to reach consumers with the same message three times - the first to make them aware of the product or service, the next to build their knowledge of it and then the third to drive that consumer’s intention to buy it. 

Take the marketing of wine in the first couple of decades of the 1900s. Penfolds is a great illustration. There are some terrific examples to be found in the various state library archives, all extolling the unequalled quality of the grapes and the wine itself. It was a single-minded message, delivered to the potential consumer along the various points of what was then a fairly simple path to purchase. Make the consumer aware of the wine via the print ad, remind them as they pass a billboard on the train on the way home, build their knowledge via reviewing the wine in the newspaper and sampling it at an expo, and then entice them to buy as they walk past a well-displayed store window.

The ad industry folk are tough to impress. The longer they’ve been in the industry, the more cynical they are. So when 11 of the best from across Australia, NZ and Asia jump on a plane to San Francisco on a fact-finding mission, the expectations are varied. Fast forward five days, after visits to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google and YouTube, and the cynics are now like kids in a candy store, pleading for more.

As senior marketers plan for next year, two of their big questions are how best to spend their communications budget and which agency can give them truly independent advice on this.

Think about where the word ‘brand’ came from. It was ‘branding’ cattle to mark a farmer’s ownership of them.

In time, people came to prefer some beef over others, and were then happy to pay a higher price for that perceived quality. If the taste remained good, or improved, that brand remained strong. There was an emotional connection and people were prepared to forgive one poor taste experience if it was followed by a great taste experience. But two or more bad experiences would soon see a cattle brand fall by the wayside. No amount of excuses could save it.

A seismic shift is occurring in the world of video content and distribution.

The once-dominant Hollywood production houses and free-to-air TV networks were joined a decade ago by global production companies such as FremantleMedia and pay-TV. Now Amazon, iTunes, Netflix and YouTube have moved in.