The Future For Advertising Models

With rich media advertising technology, it is often perceived there is no longer a place in the advertising industry value chain for advertising agencies.

Many corporates see added value in disenfranchising ad agencies. However, it appears that agencies are proving almost impossible to disintermediate.

The service provided by agencies is very complex to manage in-house.  This is from a combination of media management technologies and strong media industry relationships. Ad platforms don't automate everything.

Companies such as Operative and Ad Operations Interactive exist to fill this gap. They possess tools and technology to streamline the ad operation process, have access to cheap labor and extensive processes to ensure no mistakes are made.

Agencies are continually approached by new media companies, and provide corporate advertisers with new ad opportunities.

The frustration for current corporate advertisers is the incredibly slow pace that most ad agencies have to adopting emerging media. Yet any attempt to circumvent agencies results in alienation and difficulty next time you seek out their services.

Current technology is not keeping pace with online ad demands. This is keeping the price of online rich media ads high. New entrant adverstisers are being forced to adopt alternative advertising, such as:

• Trade marketing
• PR
• Sponsor a booth at trade shows
• Online advertising using rich media

Rich Media Ads

When online rich media first appeared there were several ad formats.

• Bluestreak - expanding ad and video ads.
• Unicast - the Superstitial, a branded interstitial.
• Eyeblaster - the floating ad.
• The Comet Cursor - a customizable cursor.

Within a short time, there were many other like offerings proving that nothing online stays unique for long. Rich media advertising has matured, into a standard set of ad formats.

The key to standardization was mass adoption by the ad agencies and advertizers.

Measurement

Counting impressions is not effective in measuring rich media ads. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Media Rating Council (MRC) believe that the numerous ways impressions are counted make ad effectiveness measurement difficult.

Market Acceptance

It is easy to get lost in ad technology and forget the basis of a good ad, is a good product. The real competition is not from ad agencies, it is from absence of your business model in the marketplace.

For your business model to be accepted, takes more than one company, so embrace your competitors, and keep them close. They are what will help you break down barriers to faster adoption.

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