Web Marketing: Life On The Frontier

The Internet is still a bit of the frontier when it comes to advertising dollars, but similar to the days of the Wild West, it seems to be where all the action is. Those advertisers who can climb out of the deep ruts left in the trail by traditional marketing should reap the rewards from this new territory.

One of the big challenges of any advertising medium is breaking through the clutter. As Jason Miller’s post points out, the Web is ripe for opportunity in this area. Based on research from Ball State Univerity’s Center for Media Design, the Web consumes almost 25 percent of people’s total media time, but only attracts 8 percent of all advertising dollars. That creates an enormous opportunity to more easily get an advertising message noticed. And that doesn’t even take into account the ability of the Web to do a better job of targeting the messages in the first place with contextual and behavioral connectivity.

The current disconnect between Web usage and the advertising dollars it attracts, creates a real marketing opportunity for savvy marketers.

The Internet is no longer a fad: it is a trend. It is seeing quarter after quarter of large growth. It is the only media that has had any appreciable increase.

Change is tough, but as Caryl Felicetta at ReveNews points out, CMOs who aren’t all over this Web thing will be at a competitive disadvantage. The Web is now mainstream (you are right Mr. Jaffe). The frontier is being settled.

There are still too many big marketers and some big established agencies that don’t get it because they think the Web is just another channel—an extension of the old world into the 21st Century. They don’t, or won’t, understand the paradigm shift brought about by Web 2.0 until it rocks their foundations.

Traditional marketing channels are wonderful assets to continue utilizing in the battle for results, but don’t go up against your competitors missing some of the newest and most productive tools now made possible by the Web.