The New Rules For Consumer Engagement

 

Haley Gribben, Strategy & Insights Manager at Net Conversion, just authored a study on the new rules for consumer engagement which shed new light on what is happening in the media marketplace. “Our goal (in conducting this study) was to give marketers practical insights into topics such as economic confidence, spending habits, brand loyalty, and the impact of different media sources,” she shared.

The survey of 1,200 U.S. adults in July 2025 used the Pollfish platform focusing on consumers 18 to 64 with household incomes of $50,000 or more, who had recently made a significant non-essential purchase and subscribed to at least one OTT streaming service.

Charlene Weisler: What are the major takeaways? 

 Haley Gribben: We identified a few fundamental shifts that marketers should focus on:

1.       Conscious consumption demands lasting value. Consumer confidence is low, with 59% saying the economy is worse than last year. The result is that 92% have recently changed spending habits—seeking more deals, reducing non-essentials, or opting for generic brands. However, they are not stopping spending entirely. They're just highly deliberate, still prioritizing experiences they truly value, like dining out and traveling.

2.       Value-driven switching is changing what loyalty means. Eighty-five percent recently switched brands for an economic or value-related reason and 40% are less loyal to brands than a year ago. Brands must work harder to earn customers at every touchpoint, showing clear value for money and consistent product quality.

3.       AI is broadening the purchase journey. Up to 62% of consumers in some categories now spend more time researching purchases than they did last year and AI is playing a significant role. Forty-five percent are using AI recommendations to inform their decisions and half of AI users report that these tools are increasing both research time and number of sources they consult.

Weisler: How do these takeaways replicate or diverge from historical findings?

Gribben: While some of our results support previous studies, we found new and unexpected insights. Consumers continue to feel uncertain about the economy. Value for money and consistent product quality remain the main reasons for brand loyalty. When researching purchases most people still rely on search engines, online reviews, recommendations from friends and family, and brand websites. Marketers should maintain focus on these key areas.

Our study stands out by showing how consumer confidence, changing behaviors, and the buying journey are connected. Beyond just measuring sentiment, we looked at how these factors shape long-term spending habits. While others report low confidence, our data reveals that 95% of people are making lasting changes to their spending affecting how they interact with brands and make choices. We also found that brand loyalty is dropping faster and more deeply than before. Four in ten consumers are less loyal than they were a year ago which suggests that economic pressures are pushing more people to switch brands.

Our findings about the new role of AI in consumer decision-making are especially interesting. Historically, new tech is seen as a way to speed up the purchase path but our data shows that AI recommendations are increasing research time and the number of sources used. This suggests AI is being used to widen exploration paths rather than as a shortcut. This fundamentally changes how marketers must think about content strategy and influencing the purchase journey.

Weisler: What actions should marketers take from these?

Gribben: Marketers need to recognize that ongoing economic pessimism (51% expect conditions to decline) and the rapid pace of consumer change mean data-driven agility is no longer optional – it’s now a core competitive advantage. We see three key lessons:

●      Nail the basics, differentiate through trust which comes from honesty and authenticity. Consumers want pricing transparency and genuine commitments that align with brand values, not overt political messaging.

●      Blend head and heart and test rigorously to find what works. Buying decisions are complex. Messages need to appeal both to rational factors — like quality and savings — and to emotion, through storytelling and connection. But there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

●      Move from reactive to predictive. AI is expanding research paths and there is growing opportunity within streaming advertising. Given the fragmentation and the hyper-personalization of media consumption, marketers need to embrace a precision data-driven approach. This means moving beyond static plans and reactive reporting to strategic use of data to continuously refine campaigns based on real-time performance by audience, platform, and device.

 Artwork by Charlene Weisler

Screenvision Media Attention Study Proves The Value of Cinema

The holy grail of advertising effectiveness is capturing viewer attention and by doing so, facilitating the consumer journey outcome. For Screenvision Media, attention measurement in cinema has resulted in a recently released Media Attention study that offers fascinating insights. Jen Friedlander, Screenvision’s Senior Vice President of Insights and Measurement, explained that, “We've been laser focused on proving out attention in the cinema space. Since 2023 attention became a buzzword and an emerging metric to measure the quality of an impression.”

The Media Attention study had two goals, according to Friedlander.  “One was to conduct and prove out attention in the in the cinema space. And two was to make sure that the cinema data was available.” It is vital to capturing data in such a way that there is not only the ability to compare to other datasets but also to make it digestible for industry usage. As such, “we wanted to make sure that we had that cinema data available both for ourselves for comparison and also for agencies that are starting to actually plan and optimize against attention,” she shared.

To that end, Screenvision partnered with Amplified Intelligence on two out of the three study phases, capturing movie goers in the natural cinema environment rather than in a lab. “We recruited movie goers to come to our theaters, pick their films, bring their friends and get their concessions,” she explained. Amplified Intelligence then brought DSLR cameras into the venues and placed them on either side of the screen to map facial expressions for over 500 data points that measure attention level at the eye level.

This seamless approach proved, “Undisruptive to the movie going experience. Movie goers, of course, had to give their consent to be filmed. But most movie goers thought they were being filmed for the duration of the movie and not just the pre-show so everyone was doing their normal movie going behaviors,” she noted. Moviegoers were tested twice in New York, in April and December, and in Milwaukee in partnership with Magna Global.

The biggest takeaway from the study, according to Friedlander, was that cinema delivers the highest active attention of any media platform and twice that of TV. They compared the three market cinema data to TVision data, which, she explained, “is the gold standard of attention measurement on the TV side.” This comparison showed that cinema averages an, “84 active attention to ads versus TV, or even CTV, where that number is about 30. That's a difference of 25 seconds of a 30 second ad being viewed in the cinema environment versus only about 9 or 10 seconds of a 30 second ad being viewed on linear or CTV.”

And this deep attention is consistent across advertising categories, implying no need for special creative for cinema. “Sometimes people think they need something special to really stand out on screen. We tested a variety of creative that were made for TV, we tested across categories and we did not see significant differences between ads,” she shared. The big takeaway here is that it is the cinema environment is less about the creative and more about the environment.

Capturing attention for ads from any age cohort is impressive but especially so for younger viewers. A surprising takeaway from the study was that the youngest demographic group had the highest attention scores. “The 18-24 and 18-34 active attention to the ads were even higher than the over 35. That's a demographic that's highly distracted with an attention span of 8 seconds as they double and triple screen all the time. But I think they really value that time away to check out and immerse themselves in the cinema experience,” she marveled. She added that the study showed that younger cinema attendees in the study actually put their phone away during the pre-show. “Is there any other time you can find an 18-24 year old that wants to put their phone away?” she posited. “In the cinema environment I think they value that time to really immerse themselves and engage in the experience that they've planned and paid for.”

The biggest challenge in measuring attention is standardization of measurement. “There's a variety of companies measuring attention. It could be via camera, via eyeglasses, some are using neuro-technology and so there are nuances how each company is collecting and interpreting the data,” she noted. But she added that the ARF and IAB are focused on providing best practices on advancing measurement beyond legacy metrics and reaching an Omni Channel attention metric. For Screenvision, comparing their results to TVision attention and viewability data at home for TV viewing makes the most sense at this time because, “it's a very similar methodology.”

When it comes to engagement compared to attention, Friedlander stated that, “Engagement is the mindset of the consumer in the moment that you're reaching them. How leaned in are they? What is their mental availability in that moment?” Within the cinema world, she sees that, since moviegoers have planned and paid to be there, “they've opted into the shared experience with friends and other fans for this completely undistracted experience.” To her, that's the height of engagement, “that ideal mix of social passion, emotion, content, anticipation, all of those factors culminate and driving attention. So to me, engagement drives attention, and engagement is really about sort of the mindset and that moment that you're reaching them.”

The next steps in this journey focus on educating the industry. “Not only getting in front of agencies and brands, but also being active participants in the ARF panels and getting on various panels sharing those results,” and connecting the dots between attention and outcomes.

For Friedlander, “moviegoers are the most passionate content fans but also the hardest to reach. They are younger compared to linear which has 80% of their primetime audience over age 50. The majority of our audience, about 80%, is under age 50.” She added that cinema also reaches an audience that doesn’t watch linear TV because they are cord cutters and cord nevers. “Cinema provides incrementality, reaching a young demo in a highly efficient way and one that you can't reach elsewhere. We call them the Elusives because they truly are elusive. It’s another way that brands can connect with a highly desirable audience on the biggest screen in the world in a moment that matters,” she concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

Matching Ads with Emotional Context to Programming. An AI Approach with Wurl

Wurl, a connected TV adtech company owned by marketing platform AppLovin, has embarked on an interesting approach to ad monetization. Partnering with BrandDiscovery with its GenAI-powered contextual targeting, Wurl is said to be able to, “precisely match ads with the emotion and context of programming in real time,” according to Wurl’s VP of Business Development for Agencies and Brands, Peter Crofut.

He explained that by aligning an ad’s emotion to the content’s emotion, brands can improve viewer memorability and campaign engagement which he says, “ultimately drives stronger outcomes and performance. Our own data has shown that advertisers can experience a significant uplift in conversion of 2-3x when they find moments of emotional resonance.”

Charlene Weisler: How does the AI matching component work?

Peter Crofut: Wurl uses GenAI to analyze the emotion of the content in the scene closest to the ad break. That analysis is based on Robert Plutchik’s wheel of emotions which includes eight primary emotions at three different intensities (high, medium, and low) that can be combined to represent the full spectrum of human emotional states. Once the emotional score for the scene is determined, it is then matched to an ad with a similar emotional score. This prevents viewers from having a jarring experience where, say, they’re crying from watching a sad scene and are then disrupted with an overly upbeat ad. When scenes and ads are misaligned that’s where negative attention can be created for a brand.

Weisler: What data is collected – how is the platform measured?

Crofut: To determine the emotional segments of the content for BrandDiscovery, we leverage GenAI to view and analyze content from a variety of different sources including images, sound, and text. From there, BrandDiscovery assigns, at a scene level, the corresponding emotional value as determined by the AI. Notably with GenAI, we offer scene-level targeting through BrandDiscovery as opposed to categorizing an entire program, series or channel under any one contextual category. Equally, BrandDiscovery’s targeting is free – we don’t charge any data fees for emotional segments. In terms of measurement, we work with independent partners like EDO and Kantar to look at things like campaign effectiveness, brand awareness, brand favorability, and purchase intent for BrandDiscovery campaigns.

Weisler: How does scene-level analysis work?

Crofut: BrandDiscovery was born out of a curiosity to consider whether or not ads that were emotionally aligned with content perform better. During initial testing, we discovered that the most significant correlation with ad engagement took place when the emotions depicted in the scene just before the ad break aligned with those portrayed in the ad creative. As a result, Wurl developed its own GenAI models trained against millions of assets to analyze content in real time. As noted earlier, we use Plutchik’s wheel of emotions to determine the emotional score of the scene, and then match it with an ad that scored similarly. This analysis is calculated in real time across FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels just before the ad break for highest relevance.

Weisler: Can you give an example of what a campaign looks like?

Crofut: We recently partnered with Media.Monks, who was tasked with executing a CTV campaign for a financial services client to expand its audience, improve awareness, and ultimately boost purchase intent. Using BrandDiscovery’s emotion-based targeting to run CTV ads across Wurl’s network of premium content publishers, Media.Monks was able to bolster the resonance of their client’s brand messaging and optimize targeting for more impactful brand engagements. The client saw a 7x lift in aided brand awareness and 2x lift in purchase intent compared to five-year industry benchmarks for Lending brand impact studies.

Weisler: What are the opportunities here?

Crofut: CTV offers massive potential for brands to connect with audiences in meaningful ways, especially as the biggest screen in the home. And, while contextual targeting on CTV certainly isn’t a new concept, we’re confident in the idea that emotions-based targeting is truly reshaping how we think about this approach today. By aligning ads based on the emotional context of the scene right before the ad break, brands can meet audiences where they already are and not just increase attention, but increase positive attention among viewers.

Weisler: What are the challenges?

Crofut: Media buyers today face a fragmented CTV ecosystem with multiple walled gardens and no standardized metadata – one movie or TV show could be categorized as multiple different genres depending on where you look. And, while CTV offers a significant step above linear in that it offers the ability to control who sees an ad, it still lacks control over the placement of the ad. All of this has resulted in limited transparency into where ads are displayed and in what contexts, ultimately contributing to the fact that advertising dollars have not kept pace with the shift in viewership from linear to CTV. By aligning ads’ emotions with the emotions of the programming, brands can have more confidence that their ads will show up in the appropriate context and better resonate with audiences.

Weisler: What are your next steps?

Crofut: In advertising, we hear a lot of talk about finding the right user at the right time with the right ad – though, in reality, we don’t really know what “right” is. As with all AI-driven innovation, the technology only gets stronger over time as it learns from more inputs. Right now, we’re in the early stages of seeing brands utilize emotions-based contextual targeting on CTV – as more advertisers adopt this approach, we’ll have even greater knowledge to learn and grow from as an industry and help us define what the “right” context truly is.

 

 This article first appeared in Mediapost.com 

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

Putting the Viewer First - A Look at Freewheel’s Viewer Experience Lab

The secret to compelling advertising is an ongoing project but, thanks to advanced research techniques, it is possible to more fully understand which ad experiences best engage viewers.

 FreeWheel has developed such a technique using MediaScience, a company that mines insights to improve the quality of ad experiences through FreeWheel’s Viewer Experience Lab.

Launched in 2023, this initiative is designed to help address, as Chris Glover, FreeWheel’s Vice President of Marketing explained, “an incredibly complicated industry. We're focused on very minute aspects of advertising technology but when we go home and watch TV we get annoyed, just like every other consumer.” Some of the biggest annoyances, he noted, include ad repetition, latency and, “unnatural creative breaks” that interfere with the content narrative. Such annoyances diminish not only the enjoyment of the programming but also the engagement of the advertising.

Although it is called a Viewer Experience Lab, it is not a lab per se. Rather it is more of a research approach. “We've partnered MediaScience which is an expert in neuro-marketing audience research and technology,” he explained. This includes viewing sessions where they can control the variables such as pod duration, latency and repetition both in home and at a mini lab facility. Testing includes, “Neuro metrics like heart rate, eye tracking, facial coding to truly understand how viewers are experiencing, how viewers are feeling when they view advertisements,” he stated. From there, insights are gleaned such as viewer sentiment on ads and branding KPIs, for example.

The results so far have led to both micro and macro insights according to Glover. On a micro level, with ad pods, for example, “we found that when ad pods were built with ads all of the same lengths, either 15s or 30s, viewers found the ad breaks shorter,” he shared. “So if they saw a pod with four 30s for a total of two minutes or they saw one with a 30 then a 15 and then another 15, the inconsistent pod would have felt longer to them.”  The finding that pod consistency across ad formats leads to better viewer experience can be immediately applied in the field and should deliver better results.

On macro level, Glover has found that while advertising in general, “gets a bad rap,” it's not totally true. “Advertising has traditionally been thought of an annoyance and no one likes advertising breaks but we found there's actually a lot of positive sentiment for advertising particularly when the ads are relevant to the consumer.”

The ultimate takeaway upends a media shibboleth. “The ads themselves don't hurt program enjoyment. It's the bad ad experience. Our study found there was no change to program liking among viewers when there were ads present versus when there are no ads present and that alone is a very interesting data point,” Glover concluded.

So it’s not the ads that are the problem, it is actually the experience that gets in the way of ad enjoyment. “It's the ad repetition, the latency, the blank slate that viewers sometimes see. Those are the real problems of the industry and that's what we're shining a light on,” he noted.

Ultimately, the Viewer Lab has been designed to improve three major areas of advertising – Quality of ads, Quantity of ads and Relevancy of ads. For each of these important pillars of research, FreeWheel has designed whitepapers, the last of which, Relevancy, is due out soon.

The goal through all of this research effort is to help guide advertisers and content providers as to the most effective and engaging ad delivery methods. “We're never going to be prescriptive to a publisher, saying, ‘Hey, you should do it exactly like this.’ It's more insights to help them as they look at their own ad strategies,” he explained and added, “What are some things they can do, such as creative diversity, remain really, really important. But any light that we can shine to provide best practices about how they're ultimately delivering advertising to consumers and planning and selling their advertising, we think is very valuable.”

For Glover, “Advertisers have a lot of choices and they can buy advertising in a lot of different environments. I would advise them to not lose sight of putting themselves in the viewers’ shoes. We advise advertisers to work with trusted partners who are putting this issue first.”

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

“Primetime is Personal” and Other Findings from Involved Media’s Streaming Study

Trying to get your finger on the pulse of television, much less to define it, is an ongoing exercise. Enter Involved Media, an international full service media agency, with a new study titled Connected Audience Spring 2024 Report. 

This study, fielded in January 2024, examines the state of streaming. Tess Erickson, Director, Strategy and Research with Involved Media, explained that this study, the first for the agency, is slated to become bi-annual. “We determined that we needed to have our own proprietary, consistent wave over wave study, that we can design and analyze in-house and to get a better sense of exactly the questions we want to ask,” she noted.

The study revealed that SVOD subscription streaming within the ad universe has grown significantly in the past year as compared to findings from similar studies. “About a year prior, we had just over half of our sample reachable by SVOD ads. That number in our most recent survey was 66%. So there has been a really big explosion in this,” she shared. While some of this can be explained by the timing of the study in January when football is in high gear, there were also, according to Erickson, additional new ad supported tiers added in the last year or two with more live events within the streaming universe.

“People who selected the premium tier were really hard to reach,” she noted, “But the increase in live events, like we see with Amazon, allows for reach to those premium viewers who are willing to pay extra to avoid some ads. Those are now people that will be reachable as long as they're watching those live events.”

For Erickson, the data shows that the definition of primetime is shifting, arguably because streaming is more of an on-demand viewing activity. For her, “when primetime starts for people is very personal. They start their prime time viewing when they can pay attention. They watch on their own start time and they're using that time to watch the content they're most excited about.”

The study also found that Netflix is the dominant streaming platform, commanding up to 90% of those viewers who have multiple streaming platform options. Why? One possible reason is the choice of programming for which Netflix has heavily invested. Another, according to Erickson, is that Netflix was a first mover. “Everyone's heard of Netflix,” she posited, “If you're going to have a streaming service, you're going to have Netflix.” In addition, Netflix is known for a range of programming genres, thus appealing to a range of more potential viewers. “What we see is 60% of Netflix viewers associate the platform with three or more types of genres. By comparison, Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock and Max, majority of viewers associate them with two or fewer genres.” Essentially, “Netflix has done a great job of not just being there. They've done a great job of expanding the content they have so that they can be a little bit of everything to everyone. In the same way the TV used to be.”

Another finding that might be of concern to FAST networks is the decline in this platform for viewers. According to the study findings, about half of the sample said that they watched a FAST network in the last month -   down from about 60% previous studies. Again, this might be because the study polled in January when there were very competitive live events being streamed. However, for Erickson, this portends a trend. “It's hard for me to see where the FAST audience has room to grow. It's hard to create a really strong connection for FAST services because they don't subscribe and don't pay. You don't feel guilty for only using to be once a month.”

Involved is planning the next wave of this study in third quarter when they intend to incorporate Youtube premium, all forms of audio and short form video. “We're always looking to improve the study. It's an interesting field because the way people are engaging with media has become so different from person to person that we are constantly trying to figure out the best way to ask questions that everybody will be able to recognize themselves in the question,” she stated. Clarity is vital. “The way people engage with media becomes so distinct from each other.”

Finally, while Involved has fielded studies in Canada and the US, the plan is to expand the study into Australia enabling all of Involved Media’s three major markets available to their clients. From there it will be possible to compare markets internationally.

 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

The Upfront Evolution Explained. An Interview with DeadLizard CEO Todd Reinhart

It seems to me that Upfronts are continuing to evolve at an ever increasing pace. I sat down with Todd Reinhart, Partner & Co-Founder of DeadLizard to get his take on where we are now in informing the media marketplace and where we are going:

Charlene Weisler: What do you see as the evolution of Upfronts over the past decade?

Todd Reinhart: There have been many changes in the media landscape in the past decade making analysis of the evolution complex. However, the key drivers of change over time are storytelling, technology and resources. A decade ago, Upfronts were dominated by big splashy events that leveraged talent, programming and viewership. Today, the Upfronts are selling experience, narrative and brand.

Weisler: What do you attribute this to?

Reinhart: The big reason (as make no mistake, demographics are still critically important) is ad tech development yielding tool sets that enable advertisers to flexibly target highly focused groups of viewers at larger and more efficient scales. Current Networks (and especially Streamers) have unprecedented stockpiles of viewer data at their fingertips. For buyers, data easily eclipses the cachet of any given flagship show or actor. Sellers, by necessity, need to package access to their data in more of a brand narrative as it is not tied to a specific franchise, but rather can be available across network programming. A big component driving change is resources. There is an ever-widening gap between independent networks and media conglomerates.  The tilt on the playing field is so steep that most independent Nets have taken to hitting the Upfront season early to snatch as many niche ad dollars as possible before the media giants crash onto the scene in early May. The hard truth is that there are two distinct markets at play operating at entirely different levels - one that is flush with the latest and most powerful ad technologies and data capture, and another that isn’t. 

Weisler: Do you think that Upfronts are more effective than five years ago or not and why?

Reinhart: They are and they aren’t . The defining line is scale and resources, as independent Nets are approaching and engaging in the Upfronts today very differently from the portfolio Network conglomerates. Across the board, all Upfronts have become more experiential in nature, but many of the independent networks skew toward a more historically traditional Upfront where they tout talent and content and activate on that axis for building affinity and fandom. Media giants can offer proprietary ad tech tool sets on a scale that independent networks cannot. So, in a way all Upfronts are generally more effective as they are pursuing an evolution of their viewership - deeper fandoms over simple eyeballs. However, the ad tech component of today’s Upfronts is one of the most competitive spaces with the largest opportunity for returns - but it is very much pay-to-play. Smaller Nets have lost efficacy and competitiveness in relation to their position 5 years ago.

Weisler:  How can one craft a compelling Upfront when the industry continues to transform?

Reinhart: By keeping one eye on the present and the other on the future, while viewing it all through a lens that is specific to that content provider’s brand and narrative. Every Network has a unique story, audience and offering - so each has different metrics for what makes their value prop compelling or what elements for inclusion are optimal.

First and foremost, the data and research should inform the narrative, define brand fans and evangelists, and reveal the primary strategy to connect advertisers to them. Buyers are sitting through dozens of presentations in a short period of time - stats and rankers quickly blur together (every Network has a #1 demo for something, right?), but emotive and affinity-based lines are much stickier in hearts and minds.

Having developed solutions for events and small agency groups, the calculus for which way to go needs to be rooted in brand and sales goals for the Upfront and the synergy of message with the method in which it’s delivered. Perhaps you’re a smaller network with a bread-and-butter stable of syndicated programs and a couple of original niche series? Small agency groups might be the way to go this year based on upcoming programming, audience trends, and your competitive set. Or you’re a Network with a growing portfolio of channels and a strategic acquisition on the horizon - a larger event to prep the marketplace and press with a growth mindset for the next year could be the call. Or you could be an established Network that is looking to pivot, and you need to shift perception first amongst buyers and then advertisers themselves - a hybrid approach of curated and heavily branded small events at your largest agencies could be the winning strategy. It all comes down to keeping your goals centered, sticking to the strategy and narrative, and getting that Upfront audience converted into advocates for your brand.

Weisler: How does data and research play a role in the presentation?

Reinhart: Ten years ago, lots of research-backed information and rankers appeared quite regularly in Upfront collateral - the buyer hard sell, if you will. There has been a generalized pivot away from eyeball counting, and a massive lean into brand affinity and fandom. This results in a sell to ad buyers that hits more on the emotive, qualitative and aspirational level. 

Weisler: What do you see as the trends in Upfronts going forward?

Reinhart: I see an acceleration and amplification of the forces that have driven change in the industry as we continue 1, 3 or 5 years out from now. Core to this will be a continued divergence in the landscape in terms of the big and small players. What will be very interesting coming out of this particular Upfront season will be the very definition of who is a big or small player. That question is in play as Amazon, Netflix and YouTube wade into the traditional space which they themselves were key in disrupting to get to the heights of their sway and influence today. There is also breakneck speed with which new technologies are developing within the content space with a move into more experiential and fandom/brand affinity themes as we see both Augmented Reality and AI generated content move from niche to mainstream. These forces will require continued evolution and adaptation of the Upfront structure. Ten years from now we just might have fully immersive AI-generated Upfront experiences that are beamed out to millions of AR headsets across the globe, but perhaps then, as now, everything old will be new again just in a different shell.   

 This article first appeared in Mediapost.com 

Artwork by Charlene Weisler