Thinking about evolution, it happens through three main mechanisms: mutation, natural selection, and adaptation.
- Mutation: This is a function of CHANCE. It’s the random creation of new genetic material. Think the internet, smartphones, social media, AI.
- Natural Selection: This one is driven by CHOICE. It’s the proliferation or elimination of genetic material through mating and reproduction. In media, it’s the growth or decline of platforms and channels based on where consumers and advertisers choose to place their attention and ad dollars. (RIP Friendster.)
- Adaptation: also known as CHANGE. It is behavioral and physical changes in response to changing environmental factors. This shows up in media as change in how people use platforms, such as social media becoming broadcast UGC (user generated content) vs. a place to connect with friends and family.
We can consciously or unconsciously participate in our industry’s evolution, but we cannot escape it. So how do we navigate the uncertainty of rapid evolution, and perhaps even do so with confidence and grace?
1. Focus on audiences and behaviors
Things rarely change faster than we can adapt. Your core buyers and their core media behaviors will most likely evolve at a pace you can manage, as long as you’re not waiting too long to adapt.
For example, traffic to websites is in decline as searches fragment across retail sites (e.g. Amazon), Large Language Models (e.g. ChatGPT), UGC platforms (e.g. TikTok and YouTube), and AI-generated search results answer questions without leaving the results page of traditional search engines (e.g. Google). While everyone’s website traffic and sales haven’t collapsed overnight, the writing is on the wall. Brands must broaden their strategy for organic search across multiple platforms and reassess DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) projections.
Keep close to your core audience and their behaviors. Track how they are evolving and evolve with them. Gather reliable data to ensure you neither overreact nor underreact in these times of uncertainty.
2. Focus on effectiveness
Media is a means to an end, not the end goal. Looking at media in the context of the overarching business strategy helps simplify decision making when we find ourselves paralyzed with so many options, so many “could do’s” without enough clarity on “should do’s”.
For example, the future of TikTok in the US is technically uncertain at the time of writing this. So what should brands do if it’s shut down? Well, WHY are you using TikTok?
- A brand is using organically TikTok to participate in the sub-culture around their category.
Follow the audience as they move the conversation to another platform (Instagram, Reddit, etc.). - A brand is using TikTok as part of their video reach campaign.
Increase investment on other video platforms your audience uses. - TikTok is a key source of traffic for an ecommerce site.
Shift investment to your next best performing channel (Meta? Display? Affiliate?) or test a new demand generation tactic.
Reground yourself in the business purpose behind each item on your media plan. Focus on why to make faster, more confident decisions in the face of uncertainty.
3. Focus on creativity
Between tariffs and wars and AI, we’re facing uncertainty far beyond media fragmentation. Even as we lean into AI to unlock new efficiencies and solve the unsolvable problems, this is a moment to get deeply human.
People are wired to learn through stories, facts bound to memory by emotion. We need to get creative about how we not just capture attention but become memorable, desirable, something that people talk about, something that people want to be part of.
And this doesn’t just apply to ads. We must apply creativity in building company culture and ways of working that create the environment for confidence in the face of uncertainty.
Resonating in this perfect storm of uncertainty and the rise of AI will require being obsessively, messily, hilariously, beautifully human.
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