It’s the sign of the times, and it reads digital-in real time.  Though still battling with dubious clients, digital is fast gaining strength as the medium of choice.

Digital is reflective of a transforming media landscape, and the 21^st PAC is nothing if not up-to-date.

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“Marketers are not inducers of the message,” says Vishnu Mohan, CEO of HAVAS Digital Asia Pacific, talking on “New Digital Creative and Media Strategies that Work.”

Mohan is straight to the point.  Three Ms mount the success of new media.  First, monitor.  Knowing what people are talking about is essential.  Word of Mouth (WOM) is essential.  Whether known as social media, social marketing-the effect of spreading information is a gauge of success and sustainability of information.

Management is the second M.  As an example, Mohan refers to Facebook, the current choice of social media.  Facebook is permission-based.  It enables built-in viral.  A full set of analytics equips it, as it reaches and spreads to its target demographics.

Demographics measure the medium, and its engagement with the target market-in other words, its effectiveness.

From McLuhan to Mohan, four decades on, the medium is (still) the message.

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Claudio Pinkus

“Oh my god!  Facebook is coming!”, reads his introduction, much to the amusement of the audience as Claudio Pinkus started his talk.  The Executive Chairman of Multiply, Pinkus was being funny.  Or wasn’t he?

With the topic, “Taking social networking to the next level,” Pinkus asks, “Does one size fit all in social media?” And the answer is a resounding negative, a fact haute couture has always known.

Users demand choice, and Multiply delivers.  It has no choice if it were to survive.  “Social media is morphing into what the market is telling (it) to be,” he states.

Of the applications that best engage users, the social site list photos.  The number one activity on all social media, the printing, viewing and storage opportunities vast, at least until families and friendships stay in fashion.

New on Multiply, and still to make its debut in two weeks, is integrated photo-finishing.  Trust the 21^st PAC to score this scoop.

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Blaming Friendster for his white hair, the Singapore-based Ian Stewart took on Friendster Southeast Asia is barely six months on the job.  Yet, the former MTV executive looks every bit the social media guru.

Stewart is a mass of numbers and statistics.  40% of Asian online use is on social media sites.  76% of Asians belong to a social media. 16.5% of Asians is currently online.

Ancient are those in over 24 years of age.  Stewart says Friendster is for the young market, and that means sweet sixteen.  If you cannot multi-task on 36-hour days and can stay focused for more than five minutes, you are too old for Friendster.

Cross-platform aggregations, intimacy and immediacy predicaments lead to more sellers of privacy tools.

Not to be outdone, Stewart also announced Friendster’s new branding, “Connecting Smiles” with the tag line “The shortest distance between two people is a smile”, still to launch on December 4, 2009.

Turning 25 before the date never felt so ageing.

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Ruben Maislos

Another OMG moment at the Ad Congress happened when Ruben Maislos, founder and vice-president for business development of Pudding Media flashed a picture of the 80s celebrities of Bagets to speak on “Mobile Marketing, Philippines’ Largest Channel.  How to do it right”.

“Mobile marketing is the way to reach a low-end market through digital.  Not online,” Maislos says.  With the exception of Singapore, the trend demonstrated across Southeast Asia.  Furthermore, “still cooking,” is how he describes brands using social media.

In view of a Philippine perspective, Maislos believes billboards are not the way to go.  “How many people actually remember all the information on a billboard,” he asks.   “Those billboards have mobile numbers written on them,” he adds.  Brave words from Maislos, in view of a Philippine skyline dotted by the massive structures.

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Dirk Eschenbacher

Dirk Eschenbacher’s “Monetizing New Media: Measuring Effectiveness vis-à-vis traditional” discussed a new interactivity, the norm of many digital campaigns.

Four key factors induce online interactivity:  Inform, explore, co-create and community.  Interactivity is pushing brand content for viewing and download, while pulling users to upload content.

“Technology is behind the amazing amount of explosion of digital.  It has made easier connections from personal to online world,” says Eschenbacher.

“Changes across marketing, through different platforms, are so complex, (you) can get lost in them,” he adds.

The China-based Eschenbacher says social networks are not new in Asia, not with China having more social sites building connections and making new engagements.

Eschenbacher says “It is impossible to predict the industry in five years,” but also adds, “Now is not the time to make money.  Now is the time to invest money and make money later on.”