The marketing industry has come a long way, but we do not think of it often because of the phenomenal speed with which changes come and go. December, dear readers, is a good time to take stock of these changes and achievements.

We witnessed Unifi high speed broadband transform the entire surfing experience in the country. Auguring the world of high quality video experience online, this game changer brings online television, IPTV, video news and social television to users in unprecedented ways. This opens up a vast channel for marketers, unexplored and full of possibilities.

Recently a friend of mine was talking about 'apps'. "Mobile apps are not applications anymore, they are quickly becoming consumer products in the digital form", he laughed. And though the conversation moved to newer pastures, his observation stayed with me. Apps have opened up a new frontier in marketing, allowing communicators to engage with their prospects in a truly customized manner; allowing them to engage in real time with customers, prospects and various stakeholders.

Another significant development that has occurred in Malaysia's marketing communications scene is that marketers are becoming more sophisticated and in being so they are demanding for more accountability for campaigns and better measurements on effectiveness. Competition amongst brands require ad budgets to work harder than they have ever before and there is therefore a need for media campaigns to be measured, accountable and more engaging. Marketers now need their campaigns to result in a tangible uplift in market share or sales.

I would be remiss, however, if I were to not say the following to my readers. Complacency has always been the enemy of development and progress, that comfortable plateau of mediocrity; fuelled by cookie cutter ideas, plagiarism and quick fixes. We, as marketers, must be wary of that.

Let innovation be our torch, inspiration our standard and vision our sight; hand in hand with the phenomenal changes around us. Only when we step out of our comfort zone will we have an adventure of our lives.

In our saturated world, I end with the words of MIT Professor Otto Scharmer, who conceived the Theory of U and Presencing: Lead from the Future as It Emerges.

Have a beautiful 2012.