In an effort to assess how Americans interact with the plethora of media that surrounds them, Adweek recently enlisted researchers from Ball State University's Center for Media Design (CMD) to observe four individuals for one day each. The very different patterns of media behavior on display underscore the complexity of a world in which consumers increasingly program their own media lives and content is no longer defined by platform. 

Joel, 30 years old, spent an entire workday not just with TV, but with radio as well. Brian, 31, devoted more time to household chores on one Saturday than he did on his computer or watching TV. Vanesa, 24, spent twice as much time napping on a given Sunday than she did with all media combined. Kathy, 52, logged much more time online on a typical weekday than in front of a television. 

All have attended college, are middle- and upper-class wage earners and political moderates. They most certainly are not part of the "media elite" on America's coasts. They are residents of either Indianapolis or Muncie, Indiana - the quintessential heart of middle America. The fact that none of the individuals fit nicely into the "box" marketers like to segment consumers into sheds light on the need for marketing executives to constantly evaluate media consumption and trends. 

One needs to look no further than the Olympics and the presidential election in this watershed year to see how quickly consumers are shifting their media behavior. Americans are migrating to new screens for information and entertainment even as they increase their TV viewership. 

Marketers that rely on "interrupt and repeat" strategies to grab the attention of these media multitaskers do so at their own risk. Always on, the Web has become as ubiquitous as electricity, powering the behavior of previously passive audiences who now participate as media content creators. It has become an expression and extension of their offline activities and communities, empowering them as decision makers and voters. 

"Agencies need to merge the creative process with granulation. They need to upgrade their analytical skills and become an insights broker," says Louisa Shipnuck, an IBM Media and Entertainment Industry global business development exec. "Their great challenge is to bring all their vast knowledge of consumers to marketing data and make it relevant."