Skip to main content

Exploring the Advertising Sector's Remake

USA Today reports that digital media has turned Madison Avenue on its head in the past year, and ad agencies are racing to remake themselves to respond.

As new media challenge traditional media's dominance with marketers trying to hawk products, agencies are scrambling to reorganize to be able to create advertising for the growing range of platforms, to develop tools to measure effectiveness of alternative ad forms and to devise models for getting paid for the new types of work.

The pace of change will be the hot topic this week for the ad industry's leadership at the 53rd International Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, opening today in France.

There is no consensus on how to measure the effectiveness of new ad forms vs. old, nor on how to meet some marketers' demands to base agency compensation on performance measures. Not everyone in the industry is on board with the notion of upending the decades-old pay model under which an agency collects 15 percent of what the advertiser spends to place ads in TV, radio, print or other media.

The hot button for advertisers has become "engagement," or getting a customer to spend time, online or elsewhere, with a brand. The size of an audience is no longer the only ad measure that matters. Measures tracked for advertising online include downloads, e-mail pass-along rates (so-called viral campaigns), website registrations and product-information requests.

Clearly, the ad investment metrics need to be more meaningful to marketers, and the 'leap-of-faith advertising ROI model' is a long-standing ad agency relic that must be replaced with something truly credible.

Popular posts from this blog

The Evolution of Personal Computing in 2025

The personal computing device market continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience despite recent fluctuations. According to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), global PC shipments are projected to reach 273 million units in 2025—a modest but significant 3.7 percent increase over the previous year. This growth reflects the market's adaptation to post-pandemic realities and evolving technology needs across the globe. Personal Computing Market Development While COVID-19 initially triggered unprecedented demand for computing devices during the shift to remote work and online education, we now see a more measured growth pattern. IDC has slightly adjusted its projections downward, indicating a market growing steadily rather than explosively. "In light of so many challenges around the world, Japan is a much-needed source of double-digit growth this year. Enterprises there as well as SMBs have been quickly replacing PCs in advance of the Window...