It used to be so simple. Find an audience (usually from someone or something with enough money to own mass media), put an ad in front of that audience and roll around on a bed laden with cash, laughing maniacally. These days, there is huge media fragmentation, constant distraction (AKA ‘obesity of the mind’), more good content on offer than ever before and numerous ways for consumers to dodge ads. That makes reaching audiences much more difficult, but the rise of digital technology and the rapid changes in the way people are consuming media has meant broadcasters and advertisers have had to embrace more creative methods of storytelling to maintain the audience’s attention, something Blacksand’s senior digital producer Amie Mills discussed recently at the first TVNZ Outtakes event.