Where lies the future of Web advertising?

1999-12-07

Hmmm… advertising, advertising, advertising. As illustrated by the launch of the latest Real Networks’ server software, this subject continues to garner attention, particularly in relation to the Web both as channel for and a focus of advertising. It is worth highlighting certain issues that are coming to light based on the nature of the Web as an interactive, ubiquitous medium.

The interactive nature of the Web is only starting to be exploited as far as advertising is concerned. Banner advertising is the most visible form of display, but (and this is surely common knowledge now) organisations can pay to have their names appear at the top of Yahoo’s search list. Adverts can be couched using the traditional methods of sponsorship, but it does not stop there – competitions, surveys and partnerships between organisations are all becoming valid forms of getting an organisation’s name and message across.

It is already common (but not common enough, maybe) for adverts to be targeted depending on a user’s country of origin, stated preferences or logged behaviour. Advertising is part of a pre-sales process which may be managed using Web-based applications: advertising systems will be linked with marketing systems and relationship management facilities to enable a smooth pull-through of the prospective customer. Of course, with interaction, there is risk: it comes as no surprise that advertisers such as Conducent are (probably illegally) collecting details of users’ computers, or that Amazon intercepted customer emails. Such is the Web.

The second point is that the Internet is everywhere, or at least it will be. Despite continuing efforts to preserve existing channels of communication, eventually the Internet will replace the radio, the television and the telephone. Telecommunications providers have accepted this, cable companies have accepted this. This does not mean that traffic will move from one network to another, rather that all networks are becoming internet-based. In the old world, there was the channel such as the radio station, the billboard or the magazine, and there was the advert. In the new world, the distinction between channel and ad is no longer valid, as it is equally possible for an advertiser to host a radio service as a radio site to host ads. On television, a click on the remote control will take the interested party through to the sponsor’s Web site.

For all of these reasons, it is logical to assume that advertising, as a pure form of communication, is on the way out. Traditionally the ad has had a life of its own but it will increasingly be tied into other forms of marketing communication that eventually lead to a sale. The advert is an entry point into a process: if it is seen as such, it can be better targeted and more closely followed. As punters we should be glad, as companies reduce the splattering of irrelevant banner ads and turn their attention to focused direct marketing. The downside is, of course, that such organisations will be more in tune with our needs and weaknesses, and as such are far more likely to succeed in selling to us.

(First published 7 December 1999)