Digital Matters - Issue 30

This is the kicker of the IRM revolution: It makes everybody a marketer. Very soon, we will see the merger of traditional companies with advertising agencies, advertising agencies with consulting firms, consulting firms with Internet-technology companies. Predictive Networks's technology may or may not deliver on its promise. But something very much like it certainly will. And that, in turn, will make one-to-one marketing a reality, at least at the high end of the market -- which will change advertising forever. Judging from the ads that are now being shown on television, that won't happen a moment too soon.

John Ellis (jellis@fastcompany.com) is a writer and consultant based in New York City. You can visit Predictive Networks Inc. on the Web (www.predictivenetworks.com).