Expect more fireworks as Australia's series of Marketing Deconstructed lectures - which opened with an "infamous" presentation by Melbourne adjunct professor Mark Ritson - continues to October.

In the opening presentation, organised by the Australian Association of National Advertisers and hosted by Telstra, he questioned the relative importance of social media for brands, and the effectiveness of digital video: "A fleeting three seconds of a video in the corner of your smartphone is not the same as spending 35 minutes reading a newspaper in which advertising has been included," he said.

Newspapers, in which advertisements were an interesting and welcome element, "part of the experience", were now underrated.

His presentation included data refuting the doomsayers who have for years predicted the death of other "traditional" mediums such as radio and TV, as the social media spend rises. Radio still reached 75 per cent of Australians for 19 hours every week, compared to Facebook which reaches 42 per cent of Australians for eight hours, according to GfK data.

"It's the greatest scandal in the history of marketing," he said. "It's a total and utter misrepresentation of the truth, and you lose because of it. And yet despite all of this data Australian marketers continue to spend more and more each year on social media."

After this opened, dubbed "infamous" by NewsMediaWorks' advertising industry quarterly The Works, a third and final Marketing Deconstructed session - Brand management: Dropping the stupid stuff that holds back Australian brands - is scheduled for October 11. However, you'll have to waitlist to get in; registrations have closed for non-AANA members.

In the meantime, here's Mark Ritson on Communications: The death of the traditional/digital divide:

Pictured: Ritson makes the cover of NewsMediaWorks' quarterly The Works

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