That was the lead of a story reported in Ad Age that shows a downturn in employment figures in the media industry. While the media industry was on the decline, lead by a decrease in newspaper related jobs, the marketing services sector (agencies, consultants etc..) showed an increase in employment growth.
Steve Rubel points out that, the direct-to-consumer model is beginning to take hold. What we are seeing is that, as distribution channels no longer require a broker, agent or other middle-person, the change we have heard of, and expected, is being quantified.
The Ad Age article states:
"Here's the reason behind the disparity: Marketers still invest in marketing, but they have options far beyond paid media: digital initiatives, direct marketing, promotions and events, just to name a few. That creates more opportunities for consultants to help define strategies."
The landscape where brands like Smirnoff, Coke, Dove, Sunsilk and others experiment and see the power of a focus on content versus one where you spend against mass media distribution is shaping up .
Looking a little further into media and distribution trends, the direction taken buy the likes of Radiohead with the release of their latest recording, In Rainbows, (as well as artists like Jane Siberry) show an active embrace of the direct to consumer distribution strategy. The shift taking place is aligned with channels of congregation - not ownership saturation. The implications are not subtle.
However, my belief is that this is not a zero-sum proposition. As online and digital grow, bright minds from the media fold will be brought on board and add talent and ideas to the evolution taking place.
Proof of this can be found in the stats:
"Internet media companies, a sector that includes search engines and web portals, is a bright spot, with a 13.4% jump in jobs last year. Still, internet-media employment remains 31% below its dot-com-bubble peak." Although that last statistic may not be such a bad thing.
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