By this time, everyone knows the deal: consumers are in control. They have greater access to information and more media options than ever before. And viewing options like DVRs, mobile phones, and iPods let them skip past any message they don’t want to hear.

In Always On: Advertising, Marketing, and Media in an Era of Consumer Control, author Chris Vollmer of Booz Allen Hamilton reviews the landscape and finds plenty of reason for optimism. He writes, “At no other time have marketers and media companies possessed so many compelling platforms to inform, entertain, and connect with consumers.”

As Vollmer notes, the focus of advertising is shifting from talking at consumers to finding opportunities to be a part of their conversations and everyday lives. And there’s plenty of potential for smart players, no matter their size, to reinvent the game to their advantage. Vollmer points out that the top 100 national advertisers allocate only 5 percent of their marketing dollars to online efforts. His book describes what the changed landscape means for advertisers of all sizes:

• Because consumers will no longer tolerate unwanted interruptions, sellers need to develop messages that engage consumers, whether by entertaining them, helping them make decisions, or helping them connect with friends.

• New measurement approaches can measure both the “quality” of the audience — are the right consumers seeing the advertisement? — and the message’s actual impact — did it elicit an emotional response or drive a purchase?

• Merely boosting awareness is no longer an adequate result for advertising. With the ability to track detailed metrics, such as how many registrations result from advertising on a particular Web page, you need to see concrete results from your marketing.

• Tracking results also allows you to adjust your messages and make them contextually relevant.

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