When Sir Charles Wheatstone, a British physicist patented the telegraph in 1837 in England little did he know that he was contributing his quota to the history of electronic media and communications technology. But the first major technological breakthrough in media and communications technology was the printing press. Gutenberg had printed the first publication in 1442 on his new printing press exactly 395 years before the telegraph was invented. Though the inventions of the printing press and telegraph have nothing in common in terms of technology, they are strongly connected in that each provided a vital background for the later development of electronic media and communications technology (Anne Leer 2000). These two separate events actually laid down the foundations for three major media industries: print publishing, telephony and broadcasting. These technologies developed as separate fields for over 200 years before converging toward the end of the 1970s in a mixed media and communications industry. Hitherto separate technologies are coming closer together as a direct effect of the advances made in microchip and computer technology. Telecommunications, cable, information, publishing and mass media industries are expected to complete a process of technological convergence very soon. In 1995/96 a new trend known as the �digital or new, economy� came into being. The new economic system is founded on and driven by interactive media. It is noteworthy that there is now a shift in the way the media industry perceives the Internet from being a high-tech competition to a valuable tool of extending brands and reaching consumers. Also, it is inevitable that traditional media would reflect this new economy. Rather than eroding the potentials of TV, the online universe provides the perfect avenue to extend the other assets of a channel, for example. The informed Nigerian consumer wants to see a media scene that is changing from being a simple tool for mass marketing to a catalyst for global economic growth. Whereas traditional media were established on a highly localized and nationalized structure, the Internet is a free, unfettered global medium. In the digital age there is a need for brands to synchronize their marketing message across all channels if they are to rise to the top (Tom Stein 2003). It is heartening that many new digital brands have been born by the �new economy.� Also many older traditional brands ensured that they extend themselves onto this new digital environment. The Internet is described as the connective tissue that enables convergence of all media types and the convergence of advertising, sales promotion and commerce. Media brands have been variously described as the powerful engines of the future that make it possible for marketers to achieve more than simply delivering a message to an eyeball. It is actually predicted that media and marketers will connect to communicate and motivate instant response from consumers. Media buying in the U.S which used to be based on cost and audience size now depends largely on value and ROI. Advertisers in that country now base their media choices on their targeted marketing priorities and needs; in the process they shift dollars traditionally invested in consumer sales promotion to brand equity and integrated marketing campaigns developed in conjunction with media brands. Though print is presumed to be the most widespread, established and distributed medium, publishers are now getting used to having to operate in a climate of change facilitated by digital technology. I am happy that more Nigerian print media now have the vision and management capability to change and expand their business in line with the changing global market. However, I doubt that they are making timely response to the challenges of globalization, convergence, digital technology and societal change. Nigerian readers today want more functionality and interactivity; our newspapers need to offer online products and services which require new and very different business models from those used previously. Content is so vital that publishers must extend existing product lines into a digital environment where they have the opportunity to provide a much richer and more complex diet for their enthusiastic customers. The growth of e-commerce is creating exciting opportunities for media companies and advertisers to collaborate and move content-driven campaigns beyond the popular banner. Today, the distinction made between new economy and old economy brands is narrowing and soon it will disappear completely as we inherit one integrated economy and brandscape. More than ever before, we will live in a multi-channel marketing environment. As synchronized marketing gathers force technology and service providers will develop innovative products that help marketers and advertising agencies to implement truly integrated offline/online promotions and campaigns. Brands like Nike are synchronizing offline and online advertisements as never before, e.g. when the company launched a campaign to promote its cross training shoe, Air Cross II, it did so with TV ads designed to direct viewers to the appropriate portion of its website. On the site consumers were able to choose their own ending to the TV spots thereby turning a 30-second, one-way brand message into a 30-minute brand interaction and dialogue. For Nigerian broadcasters the challenge is to be available on all media platforms and manage a multi-channel distribution structure, i.e. from traditional terrestrial analogue aerial and cable to digital terrestrial, cable and satellite including Web TV and the Internet. New programmes should have some sort of supporting content on the Internet; broadcasters should lead viewers online when they have finished watching a particular show. This way more data about individuals is captured and it can be used for marketing purposes by broadcasters and their commercial partners. Convergence is ensuring that the technology and means of production, dissemination and delivery are now often the same for the different types of media products. A digital transmission may actually have a television or a radio broadcast, a newspaper, a piece of music, a film, book, journal article, photograph, www or Internet pages or, a telephone conversation. Because the same transmission network can be used for different types of delivery the technical skills required for publishing these �strings of digital bits� are also very similar across the different media platforms (Anne Leer). However, if your brand is not consistent and powerful on the world stage, and strong enough to recognize and capture emerging segments such as the borderless consumer, then the Internet is not for you.