Any new media or idea must provide advantages to all parties in the ecosystem where it lives, or else it won’t be adopted. We saw this in the late 1990’s with digital print. Printers didn’t want to decrease the volume on their offset presses. Agencies said it was more difficult to create variable campaigns. Clients looked at cost per page which was higher early on. It wasn’t until each player in the ecosystem saw a benefit that it began to take off.

Consumer behavior has changed tremendously in the last 10 to 15 years because of the internet. This has happened on two levels. First: Internet only sales. This is what most people think about. This number has grown, but isn’t the driving force that many thought it would be. Most sales are still made at retail. The second is Internet Influenced Sales. This is the surprising number and one that belies the real power of the web.