Constant connectivity in an on-demand world

I'm wired. Almost every minute of every day, it seems I am connected. Emailing, surfing, Twittering, streaming, gaming, texting, Facebooking, downloading, chatting -- will it ever end?

No. It won't. Constant connectivity is a megatrend.

More and more, we are relentlessly connected to one another. We weren't when I was a kid. We weren't five years ago. But you can bet we're not going to stop anytime soon.

Why? A new generation is growing up and entering the workforce in droves. The Millennial Generation is the largest this country has ever seen -- bigger than the baby boomers -- and it is the first generation that has grown up with technology and connectivity ubiquitous in their lives. To them, it's all they've ever known.

I am incessantly networked, but I think something's wrong with me. This massive new wave of population has no such hang-ups.

What these people do have are expectations borne of their condition. They live in an on-demand world. They know no other. Want a song? Download it. Want to know something? Google it. Want to tell Susie what Bobby said? Text it. Now, now, now.

The brand that gets it: Sprint
Sprint has zeroed in on this expectation with pinpoint accuracy. It used to be the phone company. But it's no longer selling just phones. It is selling the concept of "now."

The "Now Network" campaign was created for a new product called a mobile broadband card. But it hardly matters. Sprint isn't trying to dominate the mobile broadband card market. It is trying to dominate the space in the consumer's mind where the word "now" lives.

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners -- the agency I affectionately call the "other great creative agency on the California cable car line" -- initiated the campaign online with a microsite at now.sprint.com that featured a mesmerizing array of tiny widgets showing different things that live in the now: top words being used online, current world population, a tiny game of Pong.

This digital experience has been elevated to a brand campaign with TV spots inspired by the online execution. The ever-present "Now Network" message is a consistent presence, diligently working to build a bridge between a constantly connected consumer and the brand that wants to deliver that connection.