From the perspective of CM Media, this is an incredibly positive sign and a testament to how a client’s investment can be stretched further when a brand interacts fluidly with content and people. As the post mentions, this was a media buy (albeit one that doesn’t fit the “traditional model.”) There were certain expectations that the blogger was asked to live up to but her offer to take things a step further and answer the questions of her readers was something that she recommended on her own. Amy offered to do this because she understands that her readers look to her for advice and regardless of the fact that Mercedes-Benz partnered with her on producing this content, she heeded the call from her audience to answer their questions.

By being the smart blogger that she is and giving her readers the information they seek, the brand benefits as the conversation around the GLK continues. This formula is just a small example of the evolving role of media and how the planning process is becoming much less rigid. Traditionally, a campaign would cost “X” dollars to yield “Y” results and would live for “Z” time frame.

By moving into distributed media, these variables are much more flexible and have a greater potential to benefit the brands that leverage them. Even if the dollars remain a controlled factor, the results are deeper and the time frame becomes essentially infinite as conversations, unlike display banners, do not get taken down.