I consider the Edelman New Media Academic Conference a highlight of my year. The 4th conference was hosted by Edelman and New York University in Manhattan.  The spectacular venue and the opportunity hear directly from Edelman professionals and their clients was a truly amazing experience.

I could easily ramble for a day or two. But,  I’d rather focus on 5 things I learned at the conference:

1) Richard Edelman kicked things off on Wednesday with an amazing presentation about the role of PR in emerging media.

The following graphic from his presentation was particularly significant to me.

Mr. Edelman sees consumer media in 4 quadrants. This is great way to visualize how these 4 platforms must interact with each other to support today’s communication campaigns. The time and financial resources allocated to one quadrant or another depends on the nature and goals of the campaign. I also think this is a terrific way to appreciate that, as in the past, “emerging media” doesn’t completely replace “established media”, it only becomes a part of a new communications ecosystem. PR is the organizing force in Mr. Edelman’s example.

2) Publishers continue to adjust their business models to incorporate more digital content for a price.

“Digital pennies” have yet to make up for lost “print dollars” as described by our Wednesday luncheon speaker, Raju Narisetti, Managing Editor, The Washington Post.  Other publishers, like Conde’ Nast are challenging the assertion that print content should cost, but digital content is often free. Conde’ Nast is charging $4.95 for iPad editions of Wired. New print media models rely on a premium paid product to generate revenue. The paid product can easily be a digital edition, an mobile application or both.

3) Every company is a media company.

As illustrated above, brands today can easily develop their own content and distribute that content through any platform desired by their audiences. While the credibility of content generated by news media is generally higher, consumers now consider branded media part of their entertainment/information world.

4) Social media will be integrated into content and brand experiences.

This is a look at the Conde’ Nast model of content dispersion beginning with the creation of content and then a filtering process as the content “spreads.” Premium content will cost money at inception, but then flow through various media channels, including social media.

5) Bloomberg News has the most awesome building in NYC!

Thanks to Mr. Edelman, faculty enjoyed a great talk and tour of Bloomberg’s news operation in NYC. The company was founded in 1981 by Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg began by offering a subscription news service via computer terminals and has grown to control a third of the financial data market according to Business Insider.

A colleague at the conference asked me if I attend many advertising conferences. That’s actually kinda funny because Edelman has a better handle on digital communication strategies than many ad agencies I’m familiar with. I continue to believe that advertising will need reinvent itself to thrive in a digital world. Agencies, like the Barbarian Group, Mekanism, and EVB are seeing the light. But, the fundamental model of many traditional ad agencies remains oddly static. As Edelman’s Steve Rubell has said, “advertising will need to be more like PR to make it.” Branding using multiple communication channels and encouraging engagement rather than “shouting” messages will make advertising different, but certainly not extinct.

Next time, part two of my thought-provoking series on the Future of Advertising. More about the new agency model and how consumer insight and account planners can drive strategic decisions inside the agency.