The Inkstained Mind: Apple comes to Madison Avenue

27 Mar 2010

Apple comes to Madison Avenue

On April 7, Steve Jobs will take the stage once again to reveal Apple's "revolutionary", "next big thing". Insiders claim that the launch will rival that of iPad and iPhone.

Yet, it is not a device.

It is an Advertising platform that may offer "hypertargeting capability" through location-based advertising. This was coming since the day Apple brought Quattro Wireless in January 2010.

You'd think it's a big deal that digital world's leading lights, Apple and Google (who brought AdMob in November 2009) seem to be converging on a specific growth area in advertising. You'd think that WPP and Interpublic and Omnicom and Publicis would be in hot pursuit. You'd think there was something to learn from it all.

These two technology powerhouses are giant content factories as well. It is an obvious next step to monetise all this content with advertisements. But the difference is that, while the Advertising fraternity is sitting around debating 'media' and 'execution', Apple and Google also see two enormous 800lb gorillas, 'Context' and 'Relevance', waltzing around the room.

And those two smell like... money.

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WHAT IS ADVERTISING?

It's often called the world's second oldest profession.

But while the scope of the oldest one has changed little over time, the evolution in the way we communicate has had profound impact on Advertising.

In the ancient and medieval world, Advertising meant word-of-mouth. In the 1500s with the development of printing it became a 'paid public notice', disseminating the message to many. And it had Copy & Art.

Then came radio, TV, computer, cable TV, Internet, mobile phones, Internet on mobile, and it's still not done... Even what we perceive as 'change' is changing. Continuously.

So what is Advertising today?

Honestly, I don't know.

But I do know from a dozen years evolving with the business, that Advertising is most valued when it can make a tangible difference for the advertiser.

That has not changed. And probably won't.

UPDATE: Nothing's changed. But in a way, everything has.

As you see, my focus has shifted - evolved in a way - to a larger canvas. The shift or evolution was gradual, and may be have been discernable to the more observant reader.

While I was delving into the influence of media in society to better understand how perceptions are created, evolved and disseminated, I chanced upon a thread of knowledge that I frankly never knew existed.

My conclusion is that a deep pool of awareness and consciouness exists beyond the shallow narcissistic boundaries created by the convention view of social media and the Internet.

My aim is to send my readers down any path that can lead to this quenching pool.