Four years ago when my sister got married, I remember talking to her photographer who had recently re-branded himself as a wedding photojournalist.  The concept seemed novel and, in that time before the thorough Googling of society, I couldn't Yahoo! much of anything on wedding photojournalism.  The title wedding photojournalist seemed a bit pretentious however, it did convey that the photographer is trying to tell a story, particularly one that is linear in nature.  Two years later, when I got married, I used the same photographer and he still considered himself a wedding photojournalist.  By then, unremarkably, so did half of his competitors.  In two short years, the wedding photojournalist descriptor – doubtlessly invented somewhere far from here – overtook our humble metropolis.  Not unlike the increasingly zealous brand extensions (think: Ritz Sticks, Ritz Chips, Ritz Minis and Cheese Ritz), we now have to contend with a plethora of vocabulary extensions, each a self-serving attempt to bring new meaning to the word unoriginal. The latest: Chief Marketing Officer Larry Light of McDonald's has deigned that brand journalism is the evolutionary child of brand positioning.  How long will it take other mass marketers to co-opt the phrase and similarily become brand journalists?

Beyond the coining of a vocabulary extension (think: chortle, Lewis Carroll's combination of snort and chuckle – brandalism?), Light has demonstrated with influence what others have been reasoning for years: prime time television's importance as an advertising medium is severely diminished. Companies need to reach consumers where they are spending their time – and TV offers only a fraction of the global community. Increasingly, marketers are reaching out to consumers through sporting events, music (think: Pepsi Smash) and other entertainment mediums. Light includes fashion in his list of cultural languages where McDonald's catch phrase, "i'm lovin' it," must communicate effectively.

Air travel, mass media, cheap long distance and the Internet – they've all contributed to making the world a smaller place. Automation, miniaturization and differentiation – they've all contributed to making the world a more customizable place. For marketers, the convergence of these trends makes the world an increasingly complicated and highly segmented place. We're not satisfied with one-size fits all. We have a short attention span, a low degree of loyalty and millions of different reasons for buying (or not buying) the same product.

McDonald's has made impressive strides with the "i'm lovin' it" campaign, producing double-digit gains in an industry where most players are treading water. Do we like the individual ads as much as the classic "two all beef patties..." work? Nah. Nevertheless, the strategy shift is sound.  The public is hearing new sounds from a once proud brand and while McDonald's hasn't hit all of the demos yet, youth, teen and soccer mom segments are each getting a different  – and apparently relevant – story about what McDonald's has to offer. Only time will tell and you have exactly 15 minutes.