UK advertising spend online will more than double every year until
well into the next century, according to every survey published this
year.
The detail of the predictions varies, but the trend is unmistakeable.
These truly are exciting times for anyone involved in marketing,
advertising or the internet.
The reason is that the internet offers unique advantages not available in
conventional media, including much better targeting opportunities and
exciting new ways of strengthening your relationships with consumers.
It is possible, for example, to link advertising banners with internet
searches, so someone searching the net for ”music” can be given the
opportunity to buy music CDs. Or if they key in the name of a specific CD,
they can buy it online.
Never before has this level of precision or immediacy of response been
available to marketers - and it doesn’t stop with keywords. By using
appropriate software, media owners and their clients can target
advertisements at individual users based on criteria such as their country
location, the browser software they are using, or even their internet
service provider.
Many media owners provide access to ’live’ reports on the performance of
each of an advertiser’s ads at any time of the day, from any PC with a
link to the net. It is therefore possible to monitor an online ad campaign
while it is running.
The convergence between media companies and internet navigation centres
like Lycos is likely to intensify. Already we have seen
the European joint venture between Lycos and Bertelsmann, the world’s
third largest media group, and the tie-up between InfoSeek and Disney.
Companies wishing to become serious players in the multi-billion dollar
electronic-commerce market are signing partnership agreements with the
handful of web sites which attract the majority of the audience: the
so-called internet ’portals’.
Another trend is the phenomenal growth of virtual communities such as
Geocities, Fortune City and Tripod, which was acquired by Lycos earlier
this year. Their web sites are among the fastest growing on the planet,
which emphasises that the internet is less about media in the traditional
sense than about how people are seizing the means to communicate with each
other.
Companies everywhere are starting to see a real payback in terms of sales,
brand awareness and market positioning from internet investment.
The ability of digital media to deliver superior customer service, lower
prices and more choice has become an irresistible force which will
eventually impact every business.
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