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ATOMIC expands minds and media

This year, Media in Canada's annual forum evolved into ATOMIC - the convergence of advertising, technology, media and creativity - in an attempt to expand the media conversation to include a broader audience.

To get a sense of the rapid rate of change currently taking place, event co-chair Carat Canada CEO Cynthia Fleming kicked off the day yesterday with a look back to the first Media in Canada forum in 2005. At that event, then-CEO of Carat Americas David Verklin laid out seven major media trend predictions, from the rise of digital DM to the importance of analytics in measuring ROI.

Fleming made a few additions to update the list, starting with the wireless world. "In the new world everyone is able to control not only what and when they consume media, but how and where," she told the audience of approximately 200 at the Design Exchange in Toronto. "The time consumers spend in media has undergone a seismic shift, and this has had a profound effect on how brands communicate."

Referring to what Verklin called the "toothless" TV-centric model, Fleming said: "Nowadays, consumers have teeth. Social media is exploding, and if someone needs more information about...any aspect of their lives, they can turn to the Internet."

Of course, Verklin could never have predicted the election of US President Obama, and Fleming pointed to his inauguration - with its 3,000 comments a minute on the CNN.com-Facebook integrated feed and 14 million live video streams globally - as a prime example of the power of the online space. "Brands that win are those whose consumers tell the best stories," says Fleming. "We know that those conversations are going on online, and it's important for brands to monitor and participate, and in some cases, facilitate."

The other trend which Fleming identified was sustainability, which she described as less prominent than the impact of social or wireless media, but nevertheless "something we need to be attuned to," particularly as the economy improves, since consumers' environmental concerns have been shown to rise in concert with increases in the GDP. "Our new consumers, our young people of tomorrow, have been brought up with the green bin and the blue bin, and young people will be looking for those brands who take a position in the area of sustainability."

Fleming singled out Frito-Lay's SunChips, with its solar-powered factories and biodegradable bags, as a benchmark sustainable brand. However, she cautioned that "transparency is key. In the online space everyone will speak up and provide their opinion, so it's very important that when we make claims we follow through. Consumers will find you out."

Fleming then turned the mic over to her co-chair, New York-based Naked Communications founder Paul Woolmington, to discuss the future beyond 2009. Woolmington brought the future down to the here and now: "We live in a world where advertising, technology, media and creativity are colliding...but we still live to some degree with legacy models."

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