According to IAB’s managing director, Danny Meadows-Klue, there is a vast disparity between the share of advertising budgets spent on the internet and the size of internet audiences.
In an attempt to tackle this problem the IAB is expanding, with the creation of four additional posts in research, marketing, standards and education. The IAB leadership council has also been expanded to include senior executives and traditional media owners.
Andy Jonesco, vice president of interactive marketing at AOL, claims that the internet has not successfully communicated its strengths to media owners and agencies: “There has been a lot of confusion and jargon surrounding the medium, we need to facilitate a greater clarity and understanding of the benefits of online advertising.”
The IAB will be conducting client workshops, training sessions and creating a central point for research sources, to attempt to make the new media market place “less confusing.”
Despite the growth of the internet as medium and the current industry buzz word of “media neutral planning” industry experts agree that many media owners and planners have failed to integrate internet advertising into their campaigns, and often add it on, almost as an afterthought.
Nick Hynes, European president of Overture agrees that internet advertising needs to be integrated into existing planning systems to ensure media buyers recognise its importance in the media mix, commenting: “We need to discuss with panel companies and the IPA how we find a solution to this structural problem.”
There is also widespread agreement in the industry that the potential for creativity and innovation through internet advertising has not been adequately developed. However, the IAB is confident that internet ad spend will continue to increase as the medium continues to evolve and develop.
The internet is still a relatively new medium compared to press and is an important part of media consumption patterns. According to Hynes: “The dot-com boom saw many agencies ploughing money into online advertising without understanding of what it would deliver in the long term. What we should be seeing now is a more considered approach to online ads, there’s nothing like a huge market downturn to bring people [media partners in the IAB] together.”
