Today I was playing catch up on my reading.  Three great articles jumped out at me.  First was the TNS Media Intelligence report on US Advertising Expenditures for 2006.  In the report it cited that
Internet display advertising grew by 17.3% in 2006, vs. a modest
increase of 4.1% for the industry as a whole.  The trend shows that marketers continue to
shift budgets towards targeted, digital media.

In my most recent experience I have seen marketers turn their existing upfront dollars to digital advertising that is measurable. The TNS's report also showed that Network Television
grew only 2.5%, although total spend was off-set by a big jump in
Hispanic TV ads.

As you know I have written much in the topic of how Digital is still be considered by marketers who fear change or are to lazy to educate themselves as "below the line".  That is not to say that a handful of executives on Madison Avenue have now caught on that consumers are skimming past their expensive ads.

Ad Age has just released its second Digital Fact Pack,  as well as has launched a separate Digital Channel
on AdAge.com.  Why launch a separate channel?  As the consumer's behavior has made the shift to Internet from TV unavoidable, traditional agencies and the marketers that they advise have glued their feet to the gas pedal with no other choice but to keep on
going. (i.e. the current 2008 upfront buys)

Now the PR guys are singing a sad song (great read by Matt Shaw, VP of the Council of Public Relations Firms: Advertising Posing as PR: Why They Want to Be Like Us (and What to Do About It) because their budgets have dwindled due to the fact that social media has been capitalized and tracked by digital agencies.

The fact of the matter is that great ideas are consumer centric - not channel specific.  Our job as creative marketers is to change and influence human behavior not make TV ads or glossy spreads.   Moreover, the high spending 18 to 35 year old consumer is online and engaging with brands as filters to their passions.  The creative marketers who have realized this are seeing a direct correlation in sales and consumer loyalty.