Media Rules!: Mastering Today's Technology to Connect With and Keep Your Audience

Chapter 3. Be All Things

We buy all kinds of stuff. Cars, clothes, music, gadgets—the list is endless. We use all sorts of services as well. We order food in a restaurant, borrow books from the library, have our car cleaned ... You get the idea.

What is the difference between products and services? Is there one? Products provide a valuable service. They allow us to get our questions answered, our problems addressed. They deliver heat, entertainment, and communications—be it in words or pictures. We need products to serve as delivery points for these and countless other services—a TV set to watch programs or a cell phone to make a call, a special conditioner to keep our new hairstyle from losing its shape.

All around the world media is rapidly expanding and evolving, creating new challenges for organizations and forcing dramatic changes in the way they market and manage themselves. Organizations that operate online are increasingly sharing their audiences with existing brands and organizations whose presence is mostly felt offline. Online and offline organizations offer distinct and, depending on the scenario, equally compelling opportunities to engage their audiences. So, why is the story always the online audience for X increased causing a decrease in offline audience for Y ? Online organizations have a lot to learn from their offline predecessors. And as more people shop, learn, communicate, and receive services exclusively online, the traditional brick and mortar businesses can ...