Today is the biggest day of the year for advertisers. The superbowl, home of the most expensive 30 second ads. People who make ads watch to critque, people who place ads watch to understand where the money is going, and companies are watching to see what creative ads there are this year so they can try to copy them. The reality is that in 2010 who can afford to place a 2.8 million dollar ad? On top of that would you want to?

It is undeniable that the landscape of advertising is changing. Want to know why you have been seeing more product placements in TV shows? Because people fast-forward past them on their DVR. Or maybe because they aren’t actually watching on a TV, they are watching it on a computer because of services like Hulu or Boxee.

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Today is the biggest day of the year for advertisers. The Super Bowl, home of the most expensive 30 second ads. Sure in the US people are watching to see two teams battle it out. But as a marketer how many of us are watching for another reason?  People who make ads watch to critque, people who place ads watch to understand where the money is going, and companies are watching to see what creative ads there are this year, so they can try to copy them. The reality is that in 2010 who can afford to place a 2.8 million dollar ad? On top of that would you want to?

It is undeniable that the landscape of advertising is changing. It is not just about the 30 second TV spot anymore. Want to know why you have been seeing more product placements in TV shows? Because people fast-forward past them on their DVR. Or maybe because they aren’t actually watching on a TV, they are watching it on a computer because of services like Hulu, Blip.tv or Boxee.

Frontline just did a compelling documentary on how our society is changing because of how connected we are. Think about it, we are constantly multitasking, using multiple computers, checking our phones, replying to emails. The problem that they highlight isn’t just about advertising. It’s affecting education, healthcare, jobs and more. As advertisers though, this digital society that we are building is also building a resistance to marketing.

This is even worse as the Millenial, Gen Y (or whatever you want to classify the 18-30 y/o generation) comes of age. They are the ones that are starting to hit the job market so that means they will start voting with their own dollars. These Millenials really don’t care about your marketing, they care what their friends think. They are even more immersed in media than previous generations but they  are making decisions based on recommendations or opinions of their friends. The other generations are following suite too because their parents are learning about social media from them. The notion of brand loyalty is also in danger. They might like your product today, but tomorrow a bigger, better product might get their loyalty. This is a scary shift.

As an marketer I have to think that it’s a scary time. Sometimes it’s scary in a good way because we are looking at a whole new direction of advertising, but also scary because it is new territory. This new territory is paved with new mediums and every step of the way riddled with the question of “is this the right direction.” To that question my answer is yes. As long as you as a marketer are changing your approach, using new methods, new mediums then you are progressing.

The 30 second ad might be fading but our jobs as marketers is to figure out how to evolve it. I work on the digital side of things but still I need to plug our digital solutions into the entire marketing strategy. Daily the Hart team looks at a clients problem and figures out a new solution. Most times we’ve never delievered this exact solution before. Today every solution is different, and custom. What stays constant is that we are looking at all mediums like mobile, social, web, video, billboard, guerilla marketing, etc and deciding which is going to work best for our clients. It’s not going to be just one medium. It is going to be a mix of all of them. Adjusting the dial up and down on each medium based on the audience.

Now as you watch those Super Bowl ads look for how they are changing. 10 years ago there might have been a URL they mentioned.  Tonight watch for how many will have mentions of mobile apps, Twitter names, URLs and more to extend that ad? I bet all of them. You are witnessing the evolution of the landscape of advertising right in front of your eyes. Are you ready?