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Steve,
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Part of the issue is fear of change, combined with a very real hesitancy to take risk. (And how many corporate environments encourage risk, anyway?) It typically takes a hard sell to convince senior management that there’s room — and a need — for new media strategies when all they know is mass media advertising or the number of people reached with an article in the New York Times. And on the agency side, it’s easier to stick with traditional if the clients aren’t pushing for anything more.

My firm has been able to make inroads and gain hands-on experience by getting in clients’ doors with our traditional capabilities and then helping them take baby steps into “new” waters. The ability to prove out the value with solid results helps immensely. On that front, I think we’re all agreed.

This is an indication of a need for traditional marketers and agencies to understand and embrace the new paradigm in customer interaction and conversation that these tools represent to understand their value.

Persuade with results that make sense to decision makers.

I don’t think the ageism position is wise, though. “Isms” can always be turned around and used against the “ist.”

For instance, the “older” top line management could always say that the “youngsters” don’t understand or have enough experience in, say, client relations. Why give anyone ammunition to frame an argument? Let them come up with their own. Like this argument . . .

If social media is such a great marketing idea, and I believe that it is, why can’t those clever under 40 persons come up with a cogent and logical business argument to employ social media in marketing programs? A convincing demonstration of dollars and sense will sway anyone of any age.

As a Conversion Optimization agency we need to quickly determine how far along the online “sophistication curve” a marketer is since we’d be considered cutting edge for most of them. If they’re not already paying attention to their key online metrics (ie. their conversion rates) then they probably don’t realize how much profit they’re missing.

Andy’s right on in Point 4. For each of us to avoid becoming a dinosaur, we have to stay engaged in the trenches rather than delegating all the learning to the lower ranks. That’s one benefit of being a consultant – we’re forced to continually innovate to bring more value to our clients. And, we’ve got to have an intelligent answer when they ask, “Should I be doing something about _________?”

Important thought, Janet, thanks.

Chris
http://www.widerfunnel.com

Podcasting is a medium that I’ve been really torn about. I myself am a big fan and consumer of various podcasts, but I’ve found that they are far less relevant than twitter/blogs/social networks at conveying a message. Primarily the podcast audience is made up of marketers,PR, and techies. If it’s a B2B client you’re working with, this would seem like a more applicable strategy, but in terms of the general public, it makes up only a small piece of the pie.

And like Nigel touched on, content is still king, no matter how it is presented.

I’m liking the discussion being generated!

@ Janet: Great post. I’ve seen a lot of this myself. Even the heads of so-called Internet marketing firm I’ve worked with/for have not seemed to grasp the new methods of online marketing. The problem is that most of their clients know even less, so relatively speaking they’re still ahead of things…the reality, unfortunately, is that so many of them abandoned the reality that they had to actively stay up-to-date on trends and opportunities on a daily basis years ago. One firm in particular has been involved in Internet marketing for 10+ years and hasn’t grown at all in the last 7 – very much because they aren’t forward-thinking.

Anyway, great post, thanks for it.

First, I disagree that it’s a generational gap in all instances, specific to PR. I’ve seen PR folks who are younger than I am who are adamantly opposed to online marketing. My view is that the loss of control is the biggest issue, not their age.

Secondly, I agree that the some director’s, VP’s and CMO’s may not fully understand it, but if one of their competitor’s is engaged in a “new” form of marketing, they understand that they have to be there. Yes, this does make the adoption rate slower. The real difficulty are in the industries that STILL aren’t adopting the online channel at all. Without a fast-moving competitor to compare to, companies are doing “business as usual”, which is kind of sad to see.