Today's economic downturn has effected companies large and small across the globe, forcing many to reposition their products and services in order to ensure their survival. Two recent examples of companies cashing in on a more conservative market include Domino's "Big Taste Bailout" and Wendy's "3conomics" both of which simultaneuosly take advantage of emerging advertising mediums while directly confronting the changes affecting the marketplace. This new trend, which seems to be growing among many mainstream companies (Burger King, McDonalds, Apple, Mars Candy, truth), utilizes not only traditional advertising venues such as print and television to convey their message but open themselves to an relatively new area of marketing: social media.

This emergent marketing method, also described by AKQA co-CCO Lars Bastholm as "social storytelling," is one in which companies initiate a more dynamic dialogue with their customers. Similar to the days of yore when the only medium was verbal storytelling around a fire, companies are inspiring their customers to take part in their own stories by enabling commericals and online campaigns to be recorded and uploaded on YouTube, posted on Facebook, "tweeted" and essentially perpetuated through every media imaginable via the masses.

What these companies have in common is the ability to adapt to their customers' ever-evolving expectations which involves a more creative approach to how they communicate while staying true to their brand vision. As social media gains more viability as an advertising medium these companies have begun to more frequently outsource their advertising to smaller, yet highly creative design agencies whose beneficial size allows them to keep their fingers on the pulse of popular culture. 

Despite this growth a good portion of smaller businesses have yet to fully embrace social media as viable way for them to advertise, yet are probably taking part without ever realizing it. Whether you like to browse for the newest funny video on YouTube at work (we all do it), posts blogs touting a recent event or purchase or even join a social networking (like the one you're on now) you are taking part in social media. Now imagine if you focused these activities on communicating to your customers; using Twitter to address comments and complaints, placing online ads on sites where your customer frequents such as social networks or even uploaded your own commericals to YouTube and incorporated them on your website.

And to think that this is just the tip of the iceberg for social media, imagine sending out a mass text message to your customers cell phones letting them know of your newest sales or forming a social network clique in which your customers can offer suggestions about your service, possible improvements and even test out new products. All of it considerably more cost-effective than traditional media and enacted remotely 24/7. How's that for economics?