Online advertising is something that is not only increasing rapidly when all other advertising forms are decreasing, it is the future of advertising. The message still seems to be that it’s ineffective. I think this is partially due to it’s non-intrusive nature and the lack of creativity that is inherently associated with it. I also feel it is the traditional marketing and advertising agencies not focusing on the future potential of online advertising.

I think of it this way. Marketing and advertising agencies get paid typically by creative work and consultation for media buys. Online marketing is where their relevancy fades a lot. Online marketing is neither all that creative (except for the copy) or complicated to understand. This eliminates some sizable revenue for agencies that don’t typically handle online media and what I believe leads to a smear campaign by some of the biggest firms on Madison avenue. CPM, CPC, CPA rates are also much more democratic that traditional media, so supply and demand are in much better balance than when controlled by salespeople with rates cards. A win, win for businesses trying to get the most out of their marketing dollars.

Let’s face it. The internet is not going away. Older firms need to either retool and embrace online marketing, or consider developing a new media that they can manipulate better. The latest stats has online media buys increasing even as the world slows its spin. It seems like this is a surprise to people that are not entrenched online, but those of us that are, we have known this was coming for years.

I do feel that online marketing needs to be paired and strategically planned with traditional/experiential media, but to ignore it all together is just plain dumb.

Thanks Brian Carter for the new online marketing data in this post.