That's the approach taken by the people behind Project VRM and Doc Searls' Intention economy[1].
The biggest need is brand advertising. If Coca Cola reduced their brand advertising, their sales would go decline. Maybe I'm not imaginative, but I don't see an intention economy product for beverages, where the transaction cost is low and the switching cost is zero. People don't actively think, "what would I like to drink today?"
Another need is driving awareness. Movie releases depend upon heavy ad campaigns to ensure that people know when a movie is coming out. A different example is changing service providers, like a cell phone or car insurance. Sure you might one day decide to comparison shop, but Sprint's new unlimited plan, or Geico's "save 15% or more" campaign are effective at encouraging a switch when it wasn't within consideration.
Again, that's the seller's perspective. Under the buyer's, they could make their intention of knowing about the new releases if they wanted to. Better yet, they could announce what kind of films they want to know about, instead of being drowned in ads for Fast and Furious 348.
A different example is changing service providers, like a cell phone or car insurance. Sure you might one day decide to comparison shop, but Sprint's new unlimited plan, or Geico's "save 15% or more" campaign are effective at encouraging a switch when it wasn't within consideration.
You shouldn't need to comparison shop. The point of the Intention economy is that you announce to the market of your intentions and desires, and let it come to you with bids that fit what you need.
A generic "I want to know about offers that are strictly better than my current plans" would in fact be a decent intent to announce, but it should be at one's discretion and adjust itself to one's conditions (for example, no point in getting such information if you're locked in a contract).
"Brand advertising" means making companies far more rich they than needed to be. I'd prefer an economy where companies actually rely on their product being good and people telling each other (see craft beers), and no, I don't think it's healthy for them to grow into mega-corps (which they wouldn't be able to do without ads.)
As for awareness and changing service providers, again, word of mouth and spontaneous sharing of links and stories on the internet.
