22nd August 2001 - Revolution

Net Ads Are No Longer An Experiment

John Owen's comments (15 August) cut right to the core of a change that is taking place in media planning - a change that will accelerate in the run up to year end.

As we enter the budget planning season, many advertisers will now be pencilling in their online budget allocations, and looking to their agencies to develop their media plans. Now, more than ever, marketing directors are not looking for a schedule that balances some cheap presence with some more experimental activity. They are looking for a campaign that delivers the best return for their marketing investment. This is, after all, the measure on which they will be judged.

The internet is no longer the medium in which advertisers have to allocate a small part of their budget in order to satisfy the demands of the more adventurous members of the board. It is now a genuine contender for a significant share of that budget to deliver traffic, sales, brand enhancement and awareness.

This change in emphasis is built on the internet's promise of targeted, on-to-one communication. To meet their clients demands, media planners need to focus on web sites and communication opportunities that really exploit that promise. In a world where online media costs have fallen significantly, relevance is the higher god.

Derick Hill, PDV