"Organizations looking to capture the attention of their customers have become increasingly reliant on video, graphics and photography as part of the marketing arsenal," writes the CMO Council. Is it because we are more visual - or because the only thing we slow down for is a cat meme?

The CMO Council report, From Creativity to Content, is about the role of visual media in story-telling. A lot of the reason for visual media - (photos, video, illustrations, infographics and animated gifs - goes beyond "a picture is worth a thousand words". It has to do with Getting Attention. In our current info flooded world, getting attention is harder and harder. It takes a visual to stop people from scrolling.

Stop and think about the latest social platforms - instagram, Pinterest and even Facebook - are just photo sharing websites. Tumblr is nothing more than an animated gif showcase.

Infographics are the new comic book. It is how we sum up studies and talking points. It is the step beyond the graph. It is the graph and more in one illustration.

They say that the amount of information that comes out in one year is more than in 5000 years of human history. Well with 7 billion people on the planet, that is a lot of potential content creators. Here is a good look at the data explosion in a story with pictures.

As a marketer, you have to really know your story and your target audience; then you have to figure out how to get their attention. More and more, according to the study, it will be with visual media. Budget appropriately.

Side note: No art in schools, but visual arts will be how brands bond with consumers soon. Oops!