Tuesday, 26, Jan 2010 04:59

Firms are becoming keen to move more of their advertising budgets online as every penny of the spend can be measured and accounted for, according to an industry expert.

Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the Internet Advertising Bureau UK, commented that online advertising offers a number of benefits when compared to press campaigns, as firms can measure how many people are clicking through or making a purchase.

Furthermore, he commented that the UK Online Measurement Company (UKOM) planning currency set to debut next month will allow web developers to measure the reach of internet campaigns and could encourage more firms to invest in a web marketing strategy.

Giving the example of a firm planning to launch a new product - such as shampoo - he pointed out that it may not have previously considered running an online media campaign "because they wouldn't be able to measure the audiences online as they could on television".

However, UKOM offers a "comparable tool" similar to the systems used to measure radio or television audiences.

It is thought, according to predictions made this week by Deloitte, that by 2011, the total share of market spend taken by online advertising is likely to increase from ten per cent to 15 per cent.

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makebuzzNew Orleans, LA, USA26/01/2010 22:03:51
I would caution against jumping ship too quickly, or too completely, from the traditional channel, of under-valuing offline efforts in favor of a pure online-focus.

To start with, I don't believe that online media can create sufficient brand demand, which is a enormously important factor in maintaining and growing sales and a healthy customer base. To some extent, the online channel will always be dependant on offline media, or mediums, for this reason. In 2000, I started marketing what are now very well known Internet-based travel and insurance companies online when they were brand new, and now I see their offline TV ads frequently. Why? Because you can't sustain or grow brand purely online.

I also believe that some of the justification behind moving media spend online is flawed, or based on faulty attribution of sales. The industry as a whole is not yet looking at holistic on-and-offline marketing efforts, so the effects of on-to-offline, and vice-versa, are not being accurately reflected. This makes it difficult to judge the true value of either media channel. Furthermore, every client is different, so it's a double mistake to look at poorly grouped, generalized data points.


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