In 2006, Time magazine declared YOU as the person of the year. The magazine felt it represented a change in society that we have never really seen before. The popularity of YouTube, MySpace, and many other personalized websites gives a good example of what Time magazine is getting at.

The main tool that makes this possible is the World Wide Web. This tool has changed quite a bit since it was created over 15 years ago; it is much different then it was when scientists just used it to share research. The development of the web allows people all over the world to interact with each other. Whether its Second Life avatars flirting or bloggers arguing, the web has enabled the common man to voice himself.

The generation YOU has filtered into society more than just through online interaction. Many brands have picked up on this societal change and have modified themselves accordingly. For example, Simple Coffee, a new organic coffee bean distributor, offers over 10 different types of personalized beans. The types have names like “Connoisseur” and “Mom” with characteristics that represent each personality.

Even Kleenex tissue has thought of new ways to be part of the YOU generation. Their website features a way to create a personalized tissue box by submitting your own photo to be printed on the cardboard box. Not only have new products been introduced due to the society change but the ways in which the products are sold have also changed. For years and years we have been bombarded with advertising for products that don’t pertain to them at all. As technology advances and brands find their niche, advertising becomes more personalized-like guerilla marketing.

Guerilla marketing is new and there is a reason for that. The YOU generation has shown agencies that traditional media affects the younger audience less. The introduction of devices like TiVo has forced brands to find ways to interact with its audience instead of just preaching to them.

Throughout my blogging this semester I have noticed that most of the guerilla marketing campaigns has been to promote products whose target audiences are primarily under the age of 40. One of the most famous guerilla marketing campaign this year was the infamous Aqua Teen Hunger Force fiasco. I would say the show targets male and female ages 15-45, with a primary audience in the middle.

Look at the other brands- Pepsi, Ketchup, Mission Impossible, Burt’s Bees, Dr. Pepper, and Office Max. All of these have both male and females under 40 years old in their target audience, many in their primary target audience. So it seems obvious that this generation is being hit with guerilla marketing the most. We are the most resistant to traditional advertising, duh, it has been said before. So what is to come? How will marketing be different in 20 years?

I believe that more and more niches will be created, instead of 500 cable channels families will insist on the 2,000 channel package. The You generation will produce a new generation who wants even more personalized attention. Finely targeted face lotions and their own personalized Coke-Cola website. Even the product’s packaging might differ depending on where and to who it is sold. The ketchup design contest is a great example of personalized markets. The packets, which were printed with the student’s designs, were placed in elementary school cafeterias and not just at the local McDonald's.

In terms of guerilla marketing, I think it will soon be as popular as TV and radio. More and more brands will need a different type of media to express its image as their audience’s attention will continue to get harder to capture. The guerilla marketing tactics will have to get more extreme with every campaign. So what happens if these campaigns and market tactics get out of control?

Like the Marlboro Man, will laws soon be passed in order to keep America safe? When Turner Broadcasting created a citywide panic in Boston, people were stuck in traffic for hours and valuable police officers were forced to attend to fake bombs. One major reason the story got so out of hand was because people were angered. It seemed ridiculous that thousands were negatively affected by some cable TV shows promotions.

The posts that discuss this event as well as the Mission Impossible and undercover marketing posts makes me wonder how things will be dealt with in the future. Will the U.S. government just allow companies to disrupt cities and lie to Americans? I doubt it. It is only a matter of time before we will see the law and the brand converge.