The term “new normal” took on heightened significance for the communications industry this month when WPP, Publicis, and Interpublic revised down their projections for 2013 global ad spending growth. Citing corporate uncertainty around the “fiscal cliff” and ongoing troubles in Europe, the big ad firms all agree that we're headed for another lean, mean year.

While the forecast has many in the communications industry wringing their hands, tighter budgets aren't necessarily bad for all of us. In fact, for those ...