WHILE THE MARKETING WORLD IS PREOCCUPIED WITH TRYING TO “FIX” ADVERTISING, EVERYONE IS MISSING THE SIMPLE FACT THAT CONSUMERS HAVE ALREADY SOLVED THE PROBLEM.

Admittedly, it’s a tough concept to swallow, but consumers have moved on. They’re making decisions without us. They’re the most connected, well-informed buyers this world has ever known. And their insatiable appetite for text, email, blogs, social networking and the like has enabled them to share opinions and recommendations in ways no one ever imagined.

An interesting side effect of all this “connecting” is how it’s caused the masses to segment into smaller communities who share common interests, styles, aspirations and again, recommendations. When these communities discover a brand that seems made for them, they quickly adopt it. When a brand feels broad and disconnected, they ignore it. Mass marketers who overlook this shift will continue to lose relevance.

Unless, and this is a big unless, marketers can re-think their approach and make brands intensely relevant to groups of individuals instead of the masses.

At Evolve Media, I like to think that we’re, in our own small way, influencing the connection between consumer and brand through holistic design and technology. Many times, we go the extra mile and are called upon to break a brand down to its basic elements and then re-imagine it, above and beyond what we were originally engaged to do.