In conclusion, marketers must learn new skills and platforms, but old ideals must not be forgotten. Mobile applications, various forms of response codes (SMS, 2D bar codes, etc.), digital out-of-home, augmented reality, and other forms of physical world augmentation will now be critical to your brand's digital presence. The "app" will increasingly serve functions that the traditional website simply cannot serve.

In order to survive this new landscape, you will have to make decisions and devise strategies that allow consumers to access your brand when, where, and on what device they want -- and this does not mean simply repurposing your old website; this means creating new experiences that make sense for the time and place they are experienced.

All strategic planning (marketing or otherwise) needs to begin with a needs-based assessment. It may be cliché of me to repeat the adage, "When all you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail." Still, when I look at some contemporary examples of digital marketing, I feel justified. The world of digital media is filled with creative tools, and while you don't need to use them all, it seems silly not to take the entire toolbox into consideration before you begin to build.

Some agencies and brands have a dedicated person or team responsible for studying emerging channels and sharing their findings. For those that don't have this luxury, I strongly recommend some sort of thought leadership or knowledge-sharing program in order to stay on top of trends and make sure your strategies are generated from a needs-based position. If not, your reality may be that you are a hammer in a world with no nails.

I am not saying it will be easy -- but then again, nothing worthwhile ever is!

Adam Broitman is partner and ringleader at Circ.us.

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