I’ve been talking to lots of advertising and marketing students lately about the future of advertising. I am probably the worst person to be talking to these kids about this. I don’t like advertising and never have. I don’t care about it and don’t find most of it entertaining or engaging in any way. If I want to be entertained, I will go to a movie, thank you. I don’t think most people are all that engaged with advertising. Oh, I think they will talk about the super bowl spots, because that is one of the main points about watching that game. Or they might mention a favorite ad to a friend because it makes them laugh. But I don’t think most look forward to their morning commute just because they will get to read the billboards on the way to work. I have to admit in my younger days (when I had more free time) even being a little vindictive with people trying to market to me. I’ve been known to fill direct marketers pre-paid envelopes with other direct marketers junk mail just to prove a point. I stole this idea from a good friend of mine. Don’t bother me with that stuff.  Thus my issue with talking about advertising … I don’t think there is a future for it…though I have colleagues who will disagree with me and that’s why I work with them. There is very little advertising in my present, let alone my future, because I use technology to avoid it.  Since I don’t have the advertising vernacular in my vocabulary, I’ve developed my own over the years as it applies to online media. And I’ve come to discover how close it is to the world of product development. When it comes down to it, we develop online products. These products communicate. They save time and they save money. They help people do business in new ways. We develop these products for people; people who want to save time, make their lives easier and find new information or ideas. We want to do more than help people pass a minute or 30 seconds of their time. We want to improve their lives, even if it is in a very small way. Think about things like finding out what salaries for your industry tailored to your location www.careeronestop.com or things like being able to get wine recommendations based on your taste and style www.artisanvineyards.com. I don’t think I am alone out there. Advertising has to shift its focus. In fact, the whole notion of advertising has to go away (okay, change) for marketers or business managers for that matter use the medium in a way that can affect their businesses the most. Here is some inspiration from one of the gods of advertising planning……Russell Davies to get you moving in the right direction!