DISQUS

As someone who matriculated from the days of traditional advertising, a piece of real estate like that was infinitely worth it from a brand awareness perspective. It was also a play of dominance with other big powerhouse brands to captivate as much 'eye share' as possible at high traffic locations such as airports. But as the landcsape continues to shift, I agree that this is no longer the best use of marketing dollars -- especially when most of the 'eye share' and retention today occurs in front of a computer screen.

I think it speaks volumes about the mindset of large corporations where old paradigms are still driving the execution. I wouldn't recommend to IBM that they shift *all* of the dollars from that ad placement to social media per se but, to your point, think that they could benefit more significantly by allocating a spend across tools that open the door to engagement.

In doing so, they positively impact their brand perception in the market from that of a static, stodgy and unapproachable corporate giant to a dynamic, forward-thinking and approachable company who is interested in their customers' wants and needs vs. self-serving placements that feed their own egos. The days of companies elevating themselves are over. Now it's the community that decides who reigns over the market, making the thousands of dollars of that airport buy even that much more costly a transaction when facilitating a conversation could have sufficed.