And as soon as it does, there will be thousands of media outlets and bloggers reporting on the progress—or lack thereof. A planned, front-loaded marketing budget creates scale and recognition early on, which is invariably compounded by viral buzz and media coverage.  One of the great beauties of digital innovation is how quickly and economically an idea can go into production. Making changes or upgrades is also easier and cheaper—plus they can practically be implemented in real-time.  The truth is, in the digital world, all innovators are guinea pigs under a spotlight. MORE >>

Media publications are talking about it, bloggers are writing about it, and indeed, entire agencies have set up shop claiming to specialize in it. The term “customer engagement” is seemingly ubiquitous today’s marketing world. But for many industry professionals, the exact definition of the term remains fuzzy. So what is it exactly: a new buzzword, a periodic trend, or an industry breakthrough? The correct answer would be both all or none of the above. Come again? Perplexingly broad, this offers little. To really understand this definition though, we need a few clarifications. MORE >>

As more and more content providers pop up all over the web, traditional media industries are faced with the challenge of protecting their intellectual property. As Major media companies, which once upon a time had sole control of the creation and distribution of popular entertainment, were appalled - and also powerless to stop it." ( Read Ulanoff's full reflection on Mashable ). potentially crippling issue for the media industry, for sure, but in recent years Congress has stepped in to help (remember Napster anybody?). but that is a different story). What does that mean? MORE >>

Forrester warned that rapid innovation is creating radical shifts in the methods and media that people use to engage with your company, brand, and products, and promised to demonstrate how emerging tools can combine the targeting, customization, and measurement of online platforms with the rich, emotional brand experiences often associated with traditional ‘offline’ media. This is especially true as social media rises to the top of a customer's experience with your brand. But today, with such a fragmented media landscape, demonstrating value is more critical than ever. MORE >>

Adobe announced at the Omniture Summit last week that it has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for a new report within Adobe SiteCatalyst endorsing the following metrics: Page Views, Visits, Daily Unique Cookies, and Time Spent on Site. This This accreditation means that these four metrics are also IAB compliant, finally setting an industry standard for engagement and ideally changing the conversation on digital currency from this point forward.  I look forward to others in the industry trading on more than just volume MORE >>