Peter, thanks for reminding us that social media is an important part of the mix, but traditional marketing vehicles are still in play and can work quite well depending on a company's overall objectives. Q: For a company like P&G, what % of budget would you allocate to social media (rough estimate)? 10%?

Social media is exciting and the impact it's having on brands and "branding" is significant. But your observations are right--mass media advertising is still powerful, especially for new consumer product announcements and general awareness campaigns. Case in point, NBC has cleaned up on the olympics this year.

I'm always uneasy when we, as digital media enthusiasts declare the "death" of things like mass media. Cluetrain for example, over-states the case--marketing indeed includes conversations, but marketing isn't only "conversations."

I don't anticipate the end of mass media, nor do I think that would be a good thing. What I do love though, is how social media/conversational media is having a powerful effect on what mass media can do or say--it's holding brands accountable for their claims and actions. No longer can they push a message or an image without thinking of the consequences that our many voices in aggregate will say in response. As one of my favorite Advertising Age articles stated last year, "Integrity in Marking in Not Optional."

Hi Paul - I would budget up to a point where returns are maximized in an integrated mix. For some marketers, the answer may be 0%, because other channels like search or trade have higher returns. But that raises the question of "which budget?" With the negligible cost of participation in social media today, marketers may find this money going towards consulting or headcount, rather than media spend...

Hi Eric - agreed. Case in point: have you seen the video comparing Apple's new iPhone 3G commercial to actual performance? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaN1Nz1Dyls

I think $3,000,000 dollars says it all -- and that doesn't include the several other million it takes to plan and shoot an effective commercial. The TV advertising medium is intended for big players and no one else. It is like a marketing / advertising country club if you will.

Mass Media + Social Media = Go Together. The two are unstoppable but I can't see Mass Media ever quite dying out. Perhaps it's lost much of its momentum but for special events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl, it certainly still is thriving.

Hi Peter -- Interesting post. Two comments:

1. It seems to me that social media is part marketing and part philosophy, or it inspires as much. In other words, the whole "customers in control" bit informs customer service and the corner office (and more) as much as marketing and sales, and it resonates across the company beyond the notion of just selling stuff.

2. I hadn't seen that iPhone video.. so thanks for that!

To Ann's point about "is part marketing and part philosophy", your organization either has buy in for engaging in the social media spectrum or doesn't. There seems to be an understanding that spending money on advertising is attributed to some type of immediate gratification with the expectation that we're going to see a spike in traffic, brand awareness and potentially sales. Where the social media campaign investment = old style lawn mower, needs a couple tugs to get going and someone at the helm to manage and execute with no short term gains. The immediate payoff is a couple mentions, Twitter posts, blog pickups, links, etc. But if you don't see the real long term value, I get the feeling most people have a wait and see attitude. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't. Like Heidi says on Project Runway, "you're either in or you're out." This mentality is very true with the Super Bowl Ad vs. Social Media investment. Just my two cents.

Some solid points by you and your commenters. My only concern is that almost every company thinks "in the short run" and that your last few lines give marketers a reason to back burner social media. This will come back to haunt them later.

I watched the Olympics with some people who seemed as much into the ads as the events.

I learned this when I committed the social foul of hitting the mute button during the commercials under the mistaken assumption that people were in it for the sport. The howls of protest let me know that the favorite competition was for the gold in most amusing ad.

The cool "Hank" the Clydesdale (coached by the dog) commercial even came back for another round along with some other favorites from the Super Bowl.

Jeremy - how far in the future is later? I think that it might be as prolonged as a generation.

Peter & Other Posters -

Thank you all for one of the best discussions and variety of perspectives on social vs mass media I have ever seen. Well thought-through, and well-articulated, it is the first time in ages I haven't felt like I'm lost in the wilderness - the only marketer in the world who apparently didn't see social media (and mobile media, may I add) as the "must-have" solution to all our marketing problems.

Your perspectives clarified things and reassured me: new media certainly have a role to play, and plenty of opportunity to move both branding and sales efforts forward to new frontiers. But they are only part of mix... and at present, a fairly small part of the mix, at that.

Now - do you think we'll ever be able to move the discussion up to the next level? As important as branding, strategy, media and messages are, they all must be rooted, staked and nurtured in an understanding of the person who buys and uses the product. It seems like a long time since I've seen a real consumer insight in the marketing press. Survey results? Sure. Segmentations by demographics, psychographics, behaviors and brainscans? Sure. But real research about how the brand, product or service intersects with her reality? Not so much.

I miss American Demographics! I miss in-depth studies and insightful analysis - longer than a single page news flash, shorter than a book. I miss professional marketing, where being smart is at least as important as being creative.

You and your fellow posters' command and understanding of marketing have helped me get a new grasp of how it all fits together. In particular - your point about social media fitting better in the middle than at the beginning or end of the persuasion process? A terrific insight, and as much as I've tried to read on the topic - I've never seen it before! Your commenters' observations on the relativity of its potential for mega-brands vs brands toward the end of the long tail? Makes all the sense in the world! My thanks to you all for the signposts pointing out of the "new media" wilderness!