In his iMedia Summit keynote address, MediaVest's Eric Bader describes how marketers and advertisers can evolve to stay relevant in today's ever-changing digital media environment.

In the digital space these days, the only constant is change. As media fractures and consumers work their way around brand messaging, how will marketers and advertisers evolve to stay relevant? That's the question MediaVest's SVP, director of digital connections, sought to answer on stage at this December's iMedia Agency Summit.

Before Bader arrived, keynote speaker Don Shultz gave attendees a wakeup call. He explained how people are working around traditional advertising messages, and are going directly to brands (for example, in the form of homepages online, or product reviews at CNET). While Shultz was clear on the details of this shift, he didn't give an example of agencies or marketers that are adapting to stay relevant. That's where MediaVest's Bader came in.

Bader explained how, at MediaVest, his digital team acknowledges the fact that consumers are self-selecting brand messaging with online tools like search. It's important to understand this, as this self-selection process is what drives purchases--  not placement of ads at a portal or in a magazine.

Acknowledging this shift is just the first step. But everyone gets it already: things are going to change. The challenge is coming up with a solution-- in other words, evolving adaptations to compete. One powerful adaptation is specialization.

"It's not just that the strong survive -- they do -- but, it's the ones with defined roles that survive as well," said Bader.

Before finding niches to exploit, it's important to understand the specifics of today's changes. Not everything is changing in the same way, or at the same speed. Explained Bader: "One of the keys is determining what parts are subject to change." For example, television is in the midst of a radical shift, but it's not going away all together. Advertisers need to understand how television is changing, and find ways to leverage the redefined channel. In other words, they need to evolve.

"An example of evolution is when communications are every bit as good as a face-to-face meeting with sales reps." How that is translated (or includes) for television advertising is up to advertisers (think VOD). But notice how this example acknowledges the diminishing attention consumers have for traditional advertising. The old way of serving messages and expecting people to accept them is irrelevant. People want to go directly to the brands for messaging, so set them up (virtually) with a sales rep.

Other suggestions Bader gave included "spending (clients') money as if it were your own" and investing in numbers. As the landscape changes, your instincts are important, but data is crucial. "The core to the evolution is going to come from data at the center," explained Bader.

Among Bader's other points was the importance of collaboration. "Working together, we need to evolve as marketers." Evolving individually is certainly an option, but in order to provide broad, integrated solutions, marketers need to be working together, holding each other accountable and finding new synergies between media, tactics and service providers.

On a broader note, Bader urged the audience to acknowledge people's preferences, and play to those strengths. "Stake your career on buyer's passions," Bader said. Rather than pushing expectations on people, take their expectations and capitalize on them with fresh advertising. Bader offered the example of Apple's iPod campaigns where messaging focuses on peoples' love for the product.

In closing, Bader reminded everyone that, "Ultimately, the best idea wins. And if it only works in one medium, it probably sucks."

Mario Sgambelluri is associate publisher, iMedia Connection. Read full bio.