Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

This morning I came across a link to this NY Times op-ed on the strange, destructive business decisions made by the recording industry as it attempted to deal with online competition over the last ten years.  It's a great, succinct piece of history, and one that hits close to home for someone like me that actually orders CD's online (as opposed to just purchasing the files) because I love the ritual of opening a new, physical object.

It also makes me think about the auto industry and the changes that may happen as small innovative start-ups as well as open-source, distributed design move beyond software and simple consumer products into more complicated manufactured goods.  Think the XPrize Competition for super efficient cars or the Dutch Open-Source Hydrogen Car.

At yesterday's DaimlerChrysler shareholder's meeting, CEO Dieter Zetsche had this to say about the impact of new technologies on the automotive industry:

"The crucial factor was the unforeseeable shift in demand to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles triggered by increased gas prices in the U.S.," Zetsche said. "The Chrysler Group, whose traditional strengths include minivans, pickups and SUVs, was particularly affected by this development." (emphasis mine)

To me, this reinforces the notion that while it is important for us to help our clients understand how new technologies and forms of social interaction impact their marketing initiativess, it is critical to our long-term symbiotic relationship that we also help them understand the implication of these changes on their business as a whole.

Christian Dodd