has more choices and more distractions than ever before. Consequently, the watchword of marketing in the 21st century will be targeted marketing. Fortunately for marketing professsionals, the diversity of interests that makes it important to offer 100 different channels of programming makes it easier for marketing professionals to identify the characteristics of each viewer market. For example, the people who are likely to watch an arts and entertainment channel are different from those who choose to watch MTV. While this adds to the complexity of the work the marketing department must perform, it also provides opportunities to target specific audiences representing certain demographic and income groups with tailored advertising. This type of targeting would not be possible if marketers were trying to market to a more diverse audience.
Marketing professionals will need to combat technology that allows viewers to ignore of bypass commercials. Examples of such product include advertising free digital cable, and Tivo. Marketing firms are using product placement on television programs and in movies to address the recent trend of skipping past commercials or changing channels when a commercial is aired.
Technological advances have fundamentally changed the lives of most potential customers. In the 21st century, technological advancements will mean that even more people telecommute. This means people will have more flexible timetables, which will add to the complexity of designing marketing campaigns for a mass market. Because technology like the Internet is relatively new, governments around the world are still unsure if and how to regulate online bu
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