The end of advertising as we know it.

• Author: Marranzino, Pasquale
• Position: Karsh and Hagan Advertising Inc. - Pasquale Marranzino Jr. - Personal account - Column

As Mick Jagger sings in the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," please allow me to introduce myself ...

My name is Pasquale "Pocky" Marranzino Jr. I am co-president of Karsh & Hagan, a 32-year-old advertising agency headquartered a long home run north of Coors Field. I have been practicing my craft for 36 years, and I have worked on a number of household names locally, regionally and nationally.

I am flattered to be invited to write a marketing column for this publication. My goal is to give you a glimpse of what's going on in the area of commercial persuasion, how the landscape has changed, and how you might think about marketing your business better. Every other article, or so, I will invite a guest columnist to update you on the latest marketing trends and techniques.

While working at Young & Rubicam, I had the opportunity to attend their ad school in New York. The first thing we learned is that in advertising, there are no rules. And today, certainly more than ever, there are no rules. It seemed a lot easier back then using the traditional media of the day--newspaper, television, radio, magazine and out-of-home.

During the last 10 years there has been an explosion of media vehicles and the way you "reach" consumers. In fact, it would be better to change "reach" to "connect." In addition to the traditional marketing arsenal, we need to add digital, mobile, viral, social and much more. This is the end of advertising as we know it. Have you Twittered today? What blogs are you reading? How many times a day do you check your Facebook page? What is going on (or isn't going on) out there?

New technology, new generations and evolving lifestyles have made media options broader. In fact, technology has expanded and changed the way brands behave. As creative director of global powerhouse agency TBWA, Lee Clow (one of the creators of the famous 1984 McIntosh Super Bowl ad) says:

"First we have to rethink what we call media. ... Media used to be simply a way for brands to target consumers. ... But today, media is the way that people are engaging with the world around them.

... In essence, today media is any space between the brand and the audience." A great example of this is the iPhone. It is a medium, a brand and a way of life, all in one device.

Now we have an explosion of choice. Forty years ago, Alvin Toffler, an...