Mass media advertising as we know it today is on its deathbed, and its
prognosis is poor. Advertising agencies are restructuring to accommod
ate a harsher advertising climate, agency income is flat, agency emplo
yees are being laid off, direct marketing is stealing business from tr
aditional advertising, and the growth of sales promotion and integrate
d marketing communications both come at the expense of traditional adv
ertising. The reason for advertising's impending demise is the advent
of new technologies that have resulted in the fragmentation of media a
nd markets, and the empowerment of consumers. In the place of traditio
nal mass media advertising, a new communications environment is develo
ping around an evolving network of new media, which is high capacity,
interactive and multimedia. The result is a new era of producer-consum
er interaction. Because of the speed of technological innovation, the
new media advertising paradigm that results will attain prominence fas
ter than did mass media advertising. The new paradigm of 21st Century
Marketing and advertising will be dominant by 2010 and should last wel
l into the middle of the century. If they hope to survive, university
advertising departments will have about ten years to 1) think of thems
elves much more broadly, and 2) transform themselves into departments
specializing in information transfer in the new media environment.