We stand at the beginning of a consumer-centric age - an era with potentially enormous returns for leaders in marketing, advertising and media, if they get their approach right. The new media environment is "always on," digitally accessible to audiences from anywhere at any time, and responsive to their control. As consumers get used to this, the world of marketing is shifting to one of constant experimentation, fine-grained insight through new metrics, and continual innovation of advertising and the business infrastructure beneath it.

Marketers, agencies, and media companies must each reinvent their profession as a consumer-centered craft with new standards and metrics. "Those who have the foresight to experiment with new advertising platforms and sources of consumer insight, and those who have the know-how to scale that innovation into a more powerful marketing mix, will be at a premium," Vollmer writes.
Full of surprising statistics, inspiring case studies and interviews with CMOs of companies including Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola North America, American Express, ALWAYS ON rewrites the rules for an era that requires 24/7 consumer relevance.

About the Author of Always On
Christopher Vollmer is a vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, based in New York. He leads the firm's North American media and entertainment work. He focuses on growth and portfolio strategy as well as advertising and consumer marketing in the media, entertainment, and consumer products industries.

Since joining the firm in 1995, Christopher has worked with the senior management of many of the leading global media, entertainment, and consumer goods companies. He has helped develop innovative growth strategies, strengthen operating performance, and redesign organizational structures. His clients span a wide range of businesses including television, music, film, magazines, video games, sports, broadband/digital, wireless, and consumer goods.

Most recently, Christopher has led the firm's Future of Advertising campaign, which has focused on how marketing and media are being redefined by digital technologies and new business models. His work in this area resulted in the article, "The Future of Advertising Is Now," which appeared in the Summer 2006 issue of strategy+business and provided the initial inspiration for Always On. His subsequent interviews with leading marketing and media executives later appeared in CMO Thought Leaders: The Rise of the Strategic Marketer (strategy+business books, 2007).

Christopher holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with a BA in English from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife and two children.