From Media Commodities to Co-Intelligence: Why 2007’s Warnings Still Define 2026’s Urgency

In 2007, The Association of National Advertisers’ Advertiser Magazine published a profile interview with me conducted by Joe Mandese, editor at MediaPost. It was flattering at the time to be described as a “visionary,” but what mattered more was that I was trying to sound an alarm. I warned that media and advertising remained trapped in models rooted in mass reach, quantification, and a commodity mindset, and that without transformation the business would stagnate.

Today, and into 2026, those same principles resonate more strongly than ever, and that is not a point of pride. It is a profound disappointment. Because while the world has shifted under our feet - artificial intelligence has exploded into what I call technointelligence - much of the media industry continues to cling to the structures of yesterday.

This may sound like an exercise in ego: I said it then, and I’m saying it again. But in truth, it is written with humility, and with a sense of responsibility. The failure of leaders to act has empowered Google, Meta, Amazon, and a handful of other companies to rise and dominate at the expense of legacy organizations. The advertising business, even today, is still entrenched in age-old commoditized models that reward inertia over innovation.

The 2007 Principles: A Snapshot

In that 2007 interview, I argued several points that remain painfully relevant today:

1. The industry embraces the idea of change but resists real transformation.
   Even then, executives spoke about innovation, but 90% of budgets flowed into traditional commoditized models. Today, despite AI, streaming, and the collapse of attention into fragmented micro-moments, the imbalance remains.
2. Short-term leadership horizons block progress.
   As I said then, the average CMO tenure was too short to drive meaningful innovation. That hasn’t changed. Leaders rotate before transformation takes root, passing the challenge to their successors. Even the title of Chief Marketing Officer is being archived in many corporations as responsibilities expand to non-advertising categories.
3. The media model was already bifurcating.
   In 2007, I described two economic worlds colliding: the high-priced, cluttered network marketplace and the hyper-efficient digital model. I warned that without new currencies of emotional connection, television would become overly commoditized. In 2026, we will see exactly that outcome, with the vast majority of budgets now invested in programmatic, retail media, principal trading, SEO and social media.
4. The need for new currencies.
   I pressed the case for currencies beyond reach and frequency: currencies measuring emotional connection, attentiveness, and co-viewing. Nearly two decades later, Nielsen still dominates. Yes, there are new tools, but the industry still clings to antiquated ratings as the foundation of billions in spending.

What strikes me most is not how right these predictions were, but how little has changed in response to them.

The Context of 2026: Technointelligence

Artificial intelligence has not merely disrupted; it has redefined the foundations of business. I call this technointelligence - the fusion of machine learning, human creativity, and collective intelligence. It is not a tool; it is a partner in thought, decision, and creation.

Every industry is facing this sea change. Healthcare, finance, logistics, and education are reshaping themselves in response to the possibilities and the perils of AI. Yet advertising, which should be at the forefront of communication, culture, and innovation, remains oddly stagnant.

Legacy organizations still buy and sell on CPMs. Still negotiate Upfronts and NewFronts. Still sustain systems designed for a time when audiences had three choices of broadcast channel and appointment viewing and managed scheduling dictated cultural rhythms.

Meanwhile, consumers and younger generations have fully migrated into co-intelligent ecosystems where choice, voice, and agency are table stakes.

Why Leaders Have Failed

The failure lies not in technology. It lies in leadership.

Leaders did not make the shifts when they had the chance. They chose to preserve comfortable models rather than confront the future. They empowered Google, Meta, Amazon, and TikTok to seize the opportunity. They invested in quarterly returns instead of long-term transformation. Executives are rewarded for advancing Wall Street vs. Madison Ave. value.

And yes, they empowered the explosion of digital advertising, but largely on terms set by others.

The warning in 2007 was simple: If you treat media as a commodity, you will be treated as a commodity. That is precisely what happened.

The Next Five Years

Here is where humility meets urgency. The next five years will determine whether media can reinvent itself as a partner in human and machine co-intelligence or collapse further into commoditized irrelevance.

The principles I outlined in 2007 must now be applied with ferocity:

• Adopt new currencies. Move beyond reach and ratings to measure human qualities that machines cannot replicate trust, empathy, attentiveness, and emotional connection.
• Embrace technointelligence. Stop treating AI as a tool for efficiency alone and start treating it as a partner in creativity, storytelling, and leadership.
• Break the upfront cycle. Replace impressions-based transactional programmatic models with transparent, accountable, and dynamic systems that reflect real consumer behaviors.
• Lead with generational foresight. The Alpha and emerging Nexus Generations - the first AI-native cohort - demand authenticity, co-creation, and purpose. Serving them requires more than incremental change.

The Role of The Myers Report

This is where my work now comes full circle. Since 2009, I have shifted from consulting-funded research to building professional development and educational ecosystems: MediaVillage, the Education Foundation, and the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors. Now, through The Myers Report on Substack, I am reintroducing and re-engaging as a C-Suite advisor - not as a strategist who tells leaders what they want to hear, but as one who challenges them to see what must be done.

If you’ve followed my work over the years, you know that foresight has always been my business. The Myers Report on Substack is where I’m now focusing that foresight, offering actionable intelligence, leadership frameworks, and guidance at the intersection of human and machine intelligence. If you are serious about preparing yourself, your team, and your organization for the next five years, I invite you to subscribe. https://substack.com/@themyersreport

And if you want a grounding in the leadership principles that harmonize technology and human creativity, my book The Tao of Leadership: Harmonizing Technological Innovation and Human Creativity in the AI Era is available now at all booksellers worldwide. It is both a primer and a compass for leaders navigating this uncertain future.

A Final Word

Nearly 20 years ago, I described myself as a visionary. That label always made me uncomfortable. Today, I prefer to think of myself as a mirror. My work reflects back to leaders not what they want to see, but what they need to confront.

The choices ahead are stark. Continue to cling to the past and watch others define the future, or embrace technointelligence, co-intelligence, and emotional fluency to create value in ways machines alone cannot.

The next five years will be decisive. The past proves the point. The future still invites us forward.

And the place where I’ll be tracking, analyzing, and sharing those choices with candor, conviction, and commitment, is The Myers Report on Substack. Subscribe now, read deeply, and join a community of leaders who refuse to be left behind.