If you are reading this blog, then I can assume you are affluent and young. I’m not just complimenting you here; that’s just what the statistics say: the younger and more affluent a person is, the more likely that person is to be on the Internet. Most non-Internet users are older, poorer and more rural.

Knowing where your target audience is
Knowing who is online can help out marketers and advertisers. Online advertising is rapidly growing. And with traditional marketing, everyone from cigarette makers to clothing designers targets the young and affluent. And now all these prime targets are congregating online – it’s a ripe area for more advertising.

In an IrishTimes.com article, “Reaching an affluent market in a digital world,” marketing pros must adapt to the changing tides of online marketing. JP Donnelly, chief executive of the Ogilvy Group in Ireland, says, “Perhaps more than any time before, brands have to truly differentiate themselves. They have to stand for something and they have to walk the talk, not just in their traditional routes to market, but across all touch points with the customer. That means there is both a challenge and an opportunity.”

Marketing must engage consumers
Donnelly goes on to say in the article that it’s not about just sending out a message to consumers anymore, you must now engage consumers. Other marketers have found that engaging consumers means to interact with them on some level. Whether that’s through an online chat, a video steam or online game, you need to get the consumer in on the action. And this action must also showcase your brand.

Or, this action must showcase your company, depending on who you talk to.

Martin Bailie, strategic planning director of digital advertising agency Glue London, disagrees with Donnelly. Bailie believes you must focus not on your brand, but on your company. Bailie says, “By focusing on what people think of a company, you open out the debate to the products, chief executive, share price, etc. Marketing needs to help guide the reputation of companies so they sell more product more profitably, rather than get fixated on brands and image.”

Bailie says marketers need to think of consumers having a herd mentality rather than “passive, isolated customers.”

“Herd mentality is alive and well and, if you don’t address what people are saying to each other, you are missing the majority of the truth of the situation,” he says.

The bottom line: marketing is changing
It seems to boil down to the fact that the marketing game is changing. No longer are people looking to marketing materials and marketing pros to figure out what’s good about a product; now people are finding out from their peers. Companies are starting to lose some power in influencing what people think about their brand. Instead of fighting it, companies need to find a way to embrace this and use it to their advantage, through blogs, forums and other online outlets.