If you ever watched the Jetsons, you may remember the machine that could make anything you wanted to eat. George, Jane, Judy or Elroy would walk up to the machine, say they wanted a sandwich, a beverage, or whatever their appetite desired at that moment- and it would instantly appear on a platter. They would then whisk it off to enjoy it like a meal prepared in a real kitchen. While this was just a futuristic fantasy of the time, and while technology has yet to create a machine that will make any meal for you, consumers today do want what they want, where they want, and when they want it.

In a recent seminar I attended, this trend was coined the ‘WII’ consumer- but regardless what you call them, the pressure is on marketers to position their brands in a non-obtrusive way to reach out to their audience. For traditional marketers, this requires stepping completely out of the box and finding creative ways to promote their products or services. The good thing is it’s not necessary to road block Times Square outdoor boards or glue coffee cups to the top of cars to get brand recognition, thanks to the multitude of tools presented by the digital era- SMS, Online Video, email…the possibilities are endless.

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