A well written article in Ad Age that I felt compelled to comment on.  While I applaud the view and approach of this article, it's awfully "dark" in it's depiction of the convergence of traditional mediums.  I think Al Reis is missing a few really important elements of what's happening on the Internet.  Consumers are consuming media differently and the anomaly of the Internet is unprecedented.. some of the failures I don't think are attributed to bad ideas, but timing and implementation.  People are calling for content on many levels and many mediums and while we still consume far too much television, you can't deny the increasing time people spend on the computer and the future generations (20 years) that will drive this demand for content, rich experience, and marketers need to measure at the individual level.

I love the idea of re-branding for online, but don't think every brand has to reinvent themselves to offer new access to their content.  While line extension has killed many consumer brands (CPG), I don't buy into the fact these brands will lose market value by creating alternative mediums or digital equivalents in channels/mediums the consumer is demanding.   I also don't think every large brand will be willing to absorb the cost to "rebrand" on the web, so they'll be forced to transition, education and optimize to new consumer demands. 

But read the article, it's well thought out and supported by good quotes, just not of my belief of the future..

http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=119469