I had some down time last night and decided to give my brain a break with a couple of hours in front of the tv.  I rarely watch tv these days, preferring to spend my time reading or writing or doing just about any other than watching tv.  But every once in a while I do find myself surfing aimlessly and last night was such a night.

I won’t bore you with what I watched (it was bad enough that it bored me) but I did see something interesting: a commercial that featured a twitter handle in small print at the bottom of the screen.  I couldn’t believe it.  I turned to my partner and said “Did you see that?  That commerical had their Twitter handle.”  He missed it but it was there.  As I said, I don’t watch much tv so this may be commonplace but it was the first time I’ve seen a commercial include a Twitter ID.  And it got me to thinking that the smart retailers would take advantage of the power of Twitter over the upcoming holiday season.

Let’s face it, advertising has changed.

Today’s consumers are a different breed.  They’re more savvy and aware of the media that they have become virtually impervious to ads.  They don’t respond when someone tells them what to buy or how to spend their money.  Those advertising tactics are lost in the new media marketing world.  And while the principles of scarcity still apply to advertising and marketing, unless the tactic is being used legitimately and ethically, buyers will become blind to that tactic as well.

Today’s consumer buys based on word-of-mouth.  They want to hear about products from their friends and co-workers or they read about it online.  It’s word-of-mouth that is driving the retail industry now, more than ever, and the smarter retailers will start to make social media and Twitter part of their marketing strategy.

I know a few people who will routinely ask their Twitter followers for movie recommendations.  The “It’s Friday night and we’re going to the movies, what should I see?” type of tweet litters my stream almost weekly.  Those types of tweeters are basing their buying decision solely on the recommendation of their friends and followers.  I have another friend who saw a movie recently and posted a status update on Facebook and three or four of her friends said they wouldn’t see it based on the lines “Saw X, disappointed”  She didn’t explain what she didn’t like.  Just that it was disappointing… and turned three of her friends of the movie.

That’s the power of word of mouth advertising.

What’s the next step?  Well maybe some innovative movie theater will offer free WiFi access so that Tweeters can give and get instant feedback on a movie, though maybe a smarter idea would be to set up some kiosks in the lobby so that we’re not inundated with play-by-play’s during the movie.  Maybe the concession stand can tweet out a special code to receive a free refill or box of Junior Mints.  The possibilities are endless.

Retailers during the Holiday Season who incorporate social media into their marketing strategy can offer special VIP codes to buyers or announce sales and other discounts or even announce contests all through sites like Twitter and Facebook.  And if they’re lucky, they’ll hit onto a commercial campaign that becomes viral and spreads through the online communities like wildfire.