Grown Up Thinking

YouTube has recently announced it will be revamping its site by focusing on ad-supported premium programming (a la Hulu) and completely separating the user-generated content that has long accounted for most of the site’s traffic. The redesign will now include four tabs for browsing: Movies, Music, Shows (all ad supported) and Videos (user-generated content.) I assume this change will definitely ruffle some feathers as the very content that built YouTube up to its current status as the #1 destination for video is largely being relegated to a digital ‘back shelf.’ One could argue that the site’s unique and personal feel will be lost in addition to  bombarding end users with more and more commercials. On the other hand, promoting premium content and features (including the truly nifty “pop-out” and “dim the light” features of Hulu) could potentially add more quality and value to the site.

I’m anxiously waiting to see how YouTube will ultimately pull it off. I’m admittedly a fan of both sites for their very different approaches. But I would worry that taking the You out of YouTube would take some serious value out of the equation for the masses. The balance between the two will definitely need to be maintained to ensure that quality, content and utility end up benefiting consumers. Then it can truly be an advantageous relationship between people and advertising.

Every recession in recent American history has consistently shown ad budgets decline. We’re already seeing evidence of this in the current economic downturn. However, history also shows us that when the economy goes south, those who maintain their budgets or even increase them have far greater results compared to spending levels when the economy is doing well. The lesson here is, when competitors are decreasing ad budgets, pounce.

In the last advertising slowdown, companies like Netflix, Expedia, and Zappos managed to grow over $100 million in revenue by taking advantage of cheap media. The current recession, however, is not only going to lower the cost of media, it will also lower consumer confidence. People will be saving more and buying less so companies will have to step up their game to stay competitive. Many companies have turned solely to online campaigns like Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Optimization and viral campaigns, seeing much better results at a fraction of the cost. Because people are saving money by getting rid of cable, driving less, and spending more time online, people aren’t seeing TV spots, billboards, and print ads like they used to. Today, everyone is online for everything, which is why this recession is the perfect time for traditional companies to try nontraditional advertising.

Before you ask, a meme is defined as “any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation.”  Simply put, a meme is anything that is spread virally–used and passed on–and makes its way into the mainstream.  The 2.0 world has vastly accelerated the transference of these little nuggets, and you are probably familiar with way more memes than you think.

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It’s no surprise that the online and offline worlds keeps merging into each more and more as technology enables us to keep connected at all times (especially here in the Mr. Youth office as admitted brand-lovers and tech geeks who gleefully exchange iPhone apps).

While the economy plummets and looming tension builds to keep everyone in the meatspace all a-twitch, the offline universe is evolving and adapting to reflect a space that is still thriving and positively teeming with great ideas: the online world. This month’s TrendWatching report focuses on the online/offline cross pollination that seeds offline content with a digital approach.

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