Back to the September 2005 issue.

Online Advertising v2.0

(by Craig Cooke, CEO)

Version 1.0 of online advertising occurred in 1994 when the first banner ad was placed on HotWired.com. The advertiser was AT&T, and the ad copy read, “Have you ever clicked your mouse right here? You will.” The ad was static and looked horrible.

Nonetheless, it sparked an explosion of banner advertising, revolutionizing the advertising industry. Today, the typical banners deliver low response rates, approximately 0.5 percent. However, thanks to the evolution of technology and marketing innovation, online advertising has transformed. Version 2.0 is here.

Today online advertising is delivered in a variety of formats. The traditional banner still exists, but most of these banners incorporate animation rather than the original static format. Guidelines have been established by the industry for size and display of various ad formats. These include Skyscrapers, Leaderboards, Buttons, Rectangles and Pop-Ups. Variations exist within these formats, but advertisers can now follow these guidelines and place a single banner ad across a wide variety of websites.

Rich media is a new format that is injecting life into online advertising. These ads include not only animation, but also audio, video, and higher levels of interactivity. This dramatically increases response rates as it attracts and engages viewers. Some ads even contain short games. Lately, a buzz is developing around video ads. These ads are commercials saved in a format for Internet delivery. With broadband penetration rapidly increasing, the public has the ability to view more broadband content. Online news sites such as Yahoo! News, MSNBC.com and CNN.com are rapidly gearing up to deliver online video commercials.

Companies exist today that are dedicated to delivering a wide variety of online advertising. Normally, these companies have standard pricing based on type of ad, level of targeting, and placement. Normally, interactive agencies develop the creative for online ads and contract with online advertising networks for delivery. Of course a major benefit of online advertising is the accountability of campaign performance. The level of reporting far surpasses other forms of media, and the costs are substantially less. Companies are getting more value for their dollars, and that is why ad budgets are increasingly allocating more of their budgets to online, as opposed to traditional forms of advertising such as print and television.

Explore the Internet, and keep your eye out for new ad formats. Think of how you can implement this medium for your business. A great place to start are the news and network television websites, CNN.com, ABC.com and others. Once you are ready, contact your interactive agency, and develop a strategy for executing the campaign. This is the advertising medium of the future, Get involved today.





Statistics Corner

By May of 2006, 25% of all households are predicted to have access to video on demand.

59% of Internet users view more than half of an Internet video ad, a fast growing format.

Google has a 47% share of all searches performed in the United States.

Search marketing is expected to surpass traditional display advertising in dollars spent by 2010.

A recent study concludes that 60% of organizations will invest in data quality efforts, web design and email marketing throughout the remainder of 2005.

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