Colonizing the digital landscape for fun & profit: Specialization at critical mass.

摘要

This case study of Critical Mass, a leading digital marketing firm in Calgary, Alberta, uses interviews and secondary data to identify links between the company's chosen field of specialization and its corporate culture. The firm began in 1995 and mainly because it chose to specialize---i.e. create no other forms of advertising---in digital, has attracted top global brands as clients and 'digital natives' as workers. The allure of digital work, as its commercialization pushed it into the mainstream, has been instrumental in creating a strong and distinct culture (often called 'the CM Way '), characterized by work styles arising from a youthful staff who joined Critical Mass as newcomers to the working world but as seasoned veterans of the digital world.;Keywords: digital culture, digital natives, specialization, advertising.