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Ten years ago, Nike spent 55 percent of its advertising budget on traditional media. This year that figure is down to 33 percent according to a story in the New York Times. In the last 20 years, Nike has gone from its renowned “Revolution” TV campaign in 1987 introducing its AirMax shoes (I’ve bought AirMax running shoes ever since), to another revolutionary approach today that substantially alters the way it approaches advertising and marketing. Nike has re-channelled large amounts of budget from traditional media, to instead connecting with the customer via the Internet and in-person events.

As the Times story explains:

“Behind the shift is a fundamental change in Nike’s view of the role of advertising. No longer are ads primarily meant to grab a person’s attention while they’re trying to do something else — like reading an article. Nike executives say that much of the company’s future advertising spending will take the form of services for consumers, like workout advice, online communities and local sports competitions.

‘We want to find a way to enhance the experience and services, rather than looking for a way to interrupt people from getting to where they want to go,” said Stefan Olander, global director for brand connections at Nike.

Today many Nike “TV” ads are only shown on the Internet. This makes sense when you consider the wide range of customer segments targeted by Nike marketing. It is easier to reach a specific group via the almost infinite “programming” choices of the Internet, rather than the more limited, and expensive options of traditional television. It’s also easier to maintain a dialog with that customer.

This same marketing shift scenario is playing out for many other big advertisers, too. However, Nike grabs a significant part of the spotlight because they have often been touted as a company that knows how to use marketing to build an incredible brand. When thinking changes at Nike, others take notice.

It is part of a larger change profoundly affecting media. While some traditional media giants would like to think that it is a slow shift, there are others such as Joe Jaffe (author of Life After the 30-Second Spot) who cites research saying “conversational marketing” will overtake traditional marketing by 2012. That’s a big and rapid transformation if it is true, and will have profound implications for companies, media and marketing.