Once upon a time it was difficult, slow, inefficient and often expensive for a business to mass communicate  announcements, offers, and ads. Marketing distribution channels were limited to the radio, the occasional telephone marketer, door-to-door salesmen or more often to static printed display ads via: newspapers, magazines, brochures, direct postal mail, billboards, signage, and catalogs.  And in this era, news distribution was controlled by gatekeepers at the mass media organizations.

Because of the cost, mass marketing was mostly the realm of big companies and corporations.  Small companies relied more on word-of-mouth with an occasional advertising splurge.  And a handful of media ‘anchormen’ were the face and voice of what was deemed newsworthy by the media network managers.  No company could be sure how mass print and radio news media would treat news about their company.

Then came the 3 screens.

Screen #1 was TV. WOW!  A screen in most living rooms across America could display an ad with moving images and sound! Millions could view and listen to the same message at the same time. Of course the cost for advertising in this amazing distribution channel made it exclusively the realm of large organizations.  So the whole country was exposed to product song and dance messaging like:

• Winston tastes good like a cigarette should
• Ajax laundry detergent is stronger than dirt
• Please don’t squeeze the Charmin
• Coca-Cola – It’s the real thing
• You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsident
• See the USA in your Chevrolet

Sales of household & personal care products soared.  Fortunes were made advertising cars, cigarettes, cameras, sun glasses, watches; you name it and it could be sold via a TV screen – if you had the money for the ads.  Of course, news was still controlled by the networks.

Then came the Internet.  Screen #2 was the computer monitor.  Websites sprung up like dandelions in Spring.  Anyone, with a modest investment, could have a website to broadcast to the world information, offers, and ads about their business. Big, medium, and small companies jumped in.

The problem soon became that no one could find anything online easily because of all of the clutter. So along came search engines and search marketing.  With the right approach, organizations were being found by eager customers – a business did not need to go hunting for clients.

And soon the general public found out they controlled Internet content. Soon everyone was sharing news, reviews, opinions, and advice.  This is of course referred to as social media.  The gatekeepers of information have lost their grip. The era of democracy in information publication has arrived.  Anyone sitting at their computer is a potential publisher or consumer of information and news.

And now screen #3 is arriving in vast numbers. Screen #3 is all the mobile devices made possible by cellular technology.  Now each of us can carry with us anywhere a screen that is connected to the Internet and thus the world. We are now always, everywhere able to send and receive information.

Last month there were more smart phones sold than PCs so the next era is upon us.  And did you know that when emails are sent only about 33% are opened at all and on average it takes recipients about 24 hours to get around to reading the messages they do read. In contrast, a text message sent via a cell phone is on average opened 93% of the time within 5 minutes.  A new era is dawning.

Hmmm… A gadget that is carried everywhere by a growing number of people; it sends and receives audio and video; it is answered almost instantly; and it is increasingly affordable.   What’s not to like?  Advertisers are discovering the benefits of mobile marketing and growth is inevitable.

So what era is your organization in? Are you still a pre-screen advertiser? Or do you have the resources for the TV screen? Or have you entered the age of enlightenment by using Screen #2 and #3?  If not, why not?