Interactive Marketing Matures: The Road Ahead for 2005

Arguably, 2004 marked the ten-year anniversary for online advertising. In 1994, the first banner ad was placed on HotWired.com, and the “Big Bang” of the online advertising universe occurred. Websites and CD-ROMs were developed previously, but this particular event marked the viability of the Internet as an advertising medium. Then the hype and promises came. Companies spent money without purpose and direction. Then as fast as the “Big Bang” occurred, a dot bomb implosion streaked across the marketplace with a fury. However, in hindsight, this could have been one of the best things that ever happened to the medium. It forced responsibility and accountability to professionals within the industry. This spawned a new breed of intelligent, positive ROI focused initiatives. In 2004, the Internet and interactive advertising in general finally fulfilled past promises.

Technology advancements have contributed greatly to the growth and success of interactive media. Computers have become more powerful, with virtually every system equipped with a CD-ROM or DVD drive and a network card for Internet access. The quality of multimedia has exponentially improved, and broadband Internet access has penetrated 51% of U.S. consumers. Finally, interactive media is truly considered mainstream.

There is more to celebrate than just the ten-year anniversary of online advertising and mainstream acceptance of interactive media. Corporate marketing managers have finally realized the potential of the medium and now consider it a vital component of the marketing mix. Marketing managers are even starting to favor interactive over traditional media due to the strengths of the medium: targeting and personalization, interactive, two-way communications in real-time, a wide variety of formats to choose from, and everyone’s favorite, accountability.

So what’s in store for 2005? Now that marketing professionals realize that search, email, rich media banner ads (yes, even banner ads), and a host of other tools actually return a positive ROI, the focus is going to be how to formulate, execute, manage, and adjust an interactive campaign. Online campaign management will be a hot topic. I like to refer to it as “Interactive Campaign Orchestration.” Just as a conductor orchestrates a symphony and decides which instruments perform at a specific time with certain intensities, so will the new “Interactive Conductor.” Forward thinking marketing managers will need to assess which tools to use and how to use them. Never before have there been so many possibilities. Search, email, banner ads, interstitials, advergaming, contextual placement, microsites, rich media, G-Mail, CD-ROMs, DVDs, wireless, and more. How will someone manage it all? Tools will be built by a variety of service providers, agencies and in-house departments to perform this function. These tools will be available as online, on-demand applications.

Companies will start asking for more intelligent systems and online applications to fulfill and streamline business processes, for example, an automated email campaign. Imagine developing a three-month email campaign in advance with all your direct response, follow-up and other promotional emails mapped out through an if-then flow chart of events. All you need to do is press a button and the campaign executes automatically. All you do is watch the results and adjust as you see fit. These systems will help drive increased performance and positive ROI, giving companies a competitive advantage over their competition.

Another development to watch for in 2005 is more integrated campaigns. By this I mean campaigns that combine interactive media with traditional media. A campaign might start with a television commercial and a run of print display advertising, driving people to a campaign specific website. Upon arriving, users register in exchange for something of value. Then these consumers are contacted through email and direct mail. Look for the top advertisers in automotive, financial services and healthcare to manage campaigns of this nature.

Why will consumers react favorably to this onslaught? There are two immediate reasons. First, it will be more targeted, personal and relevant to their interests, professionally and personally. Second, the user experience will continue to evolve through richer broadband experiences. So, 2005 will see bigger budgets for interactive, increased levels of performance and positive ROI, and more advanced campaigns and user experiences.

Lastly, beyond 2005 in the not-to-distant future, look for the Internet serving as the number one central hub of all marketing efforts. All initiatives will have an online component or connection in some form. Online applications will collect and manage all data and the process required to sustain marketing communications with consumers. My advice for marketing professionals is to engage with interactive. Familiarize yourself as much as possible with the tools and start utilizing them. Stay relevant with the times, as future consumers will demand it.