Contrary to popular belief, online advertising is on an upward curve. In every instance I’ve come across, brand owners or marketers who have followed a carefully considered strategy and relevant creative have returned to the web with larger budget allocations. Industry specific brands, like Siemens, have increased their commitment to online advertising in 2003 by as much as 160 percent over 2001. Last year saw an increase of 52 percent in online spend by FCB Headspace’s clients, and the committed spend for 2003 is already 29 percent up on that.
So why is there a perception that the medium is not growing?
There are a number of reasons, and several reflect badly on the collection of data. Firstly, AdEx is not recording all the online media owner spend in South Africa; and does not record South African spend on international sites frequented by local surfers. Also, online ‘added value’ to an integrated campaign across multiple media types was previously recorded as online ‘spend’, but there have been fewer such opportunities of late and the so-called ‘spend’ is therefore perceived as a decline. Finally, more partnerships with corporate sites are developing and the money changing hands is not necessarily viewed as a media purchase, although the objective is increased awareness and brand association.
Admittedly, the online media space is highly fragmented and difficult to track. It’s therefore encouraging that the Online Publisher’s Association (OPA) has indicated a commitment to implementing the submission of online spend figures as a member requirement – a measure which should have an impact on the accuracy of data.
That said, we believe there are seven key factors fuelling the growth in online spend:
(a) Due to the proliferation of media across all types, it has become increasingly difficult to reach the top end of the local consumer market. These consumers are spending less time with traditional media and more with online, interactive and ambient media.
(b) Industry-specific environments are continually developed to increase the number of truly niche and relevant exposure opportunities for industrial and industry-specific brands.
(c) New advertising serving solutions such as CheckM8, for instance, allow the brand owner to run a single campaign across a number of independent sites while still controlling the overall reach and frequency of such a campaign from a single source.
(d) Marketers find the latest developments in the control and transparency of online advertising far more appealing than they did a few years ago; particularly compared to that of traditional media.
(e) The comparison between online advertising and traditional media is far more tangible than it was a few years ago, allowing the brand owner to make decisions with confidence.
(f) In the past, clients were bamboozled by the intricacy of online proposals. Today, byte-sized solutions that still deliver on the objective are on the increase – because of their ‘user-friendliness’, they’re more readily approved.
(g) The privacy afforded by the web has sparked an increase in the number of consumers seeking advice and guidance on sensitive issues such as personal hygiene and financial planning, which has given rise to opportunities for targeting on a one-to-one level.
The web – its games, questionnaires, polls and special offers – caught the imagination of many South African consumers a few years ago. Today, its online and interactive marketing opportunities appear to have attracted the attention of the country’s brand owners. We may be starting off a small base, but I predict budgets will continue to grow in 2003 before spreading like a veld fire towards the middle of this decade.