A new wave of e-readers wowed people at the International CES (Consumer Electronic Show) last weekend (Jan. 7-10). As a self-admitted "bookaholic," I vowed to get one this year. I hope the competition brings down the price.

If you are a traditional ad man or woman (or aspire to be), the gears in your head need to be turning right now. A new form of communication is emerging. Will it be something that leaves you behind or launches you into this new decade of the 21st century? According to Crain's New York Business, over 367 magazines shut down in 2009. People are just way too eager to declare the death of print. Is it dying or is it just changing? That same Crain's article also stated that 64 publications became online only.

Digital. Now e-readers. I don't have to tell you that advertisers will want a piece of this in a big way.

The ad-friendly e-reader? Yes, it sounds like an oxymoron, but if e-readers truly take off, here's an assignment many of us may be facing soon: How do we get them to turn on an e-reader and tune into our message, without turning them off by our intrusion? (Say that three times fast at a future strategy session.)

Television advertisers are still combating the "skip" and "fast-forward" buttons on the DVR. What are print advertisers going to about this new "threat?"

Hopefully no one on the traditional side views e-readers as a threat. Handled properly, it's an opportunity – an exciting challenge actually.

While traditional advertising continues to lose ground, the traditional marketer can make some gains with a little forward thinking.

Don't look at it as a gimmick, especially if it's showing signs to be an emerging medium. Embrace it and understand the attraction, so you can see how to best reach this audience. Then educate your clients. Show them the potential and your recommendation on how to best communicate with the users.

Don't just take a print ad and slap it on an e-reader. Traditional marketers make the same mistake when they throw an ad on YouTube and call it social media. It shows little understanding of the medium and little regard to your audience. Demonstrate you can think out of the box by demonstrating an understanding of the new box you are working in. Think engagement and interaction, not interruption.

I'm hearing from a lot of traditional ad men and women who don't think they can survive in an untraditional world.  Undoing years of traditional thinking isn't easy, but it's not impossible. It starts with not trying to force-fit conventional tactics into unconventional mediums. It begins by educating yourself about these new trends.

Remember, the thing about e-readers and the new trends out there is that it's new to everyone. We're all on a level playing field right now. It was like that when we coined the term "social media" years ago. Now the experts are starting to emerge. So what are you going to do to be the recognized expert of the next big movement?