Information is the most valuable commodity in the world today and this business is about giving people access to information that is relevant to their lives.

What makes a media company successful is how it copes with competitive markets in which people have a choice. Competition today is at a more intense level than it has ever before been because the barriers to providing information in the virtual world are so low and the choice of provider nearly infinite.

Connectivity doesn't just mean you get a lot more chances to deliver messages about customer service and pricing plans. This isn't one-sided. It enables people to talk back.

My belief is that if you grapple with the big changes until you really get them and if you develop an internal compass to steer your marketing and communications, you will be working in a discipline that is more exciting, more intellectually rich, more delightfully complex and ultimately more rewarding than it has ever been.

The future belongs to brands that do more than pay lip-service to real dialogue and recognise that their customers want them to believe in something.