• by Seana Mulcahy , December 15, 2003

Wow, in a week that I thought would be strewn with boring news bits of snow storms in the Northeast, a few days left for holiday shopping, and a handful of laggards who are just now finding out about the Paris Hilton tape... I was shocked Sunday morning.

We all woke up to the imagery of a man, disheveled, unkempt, disgruntled and uneasy as he was probed by a doctor for vital signs and a DNA test. Football, the weather, and holiday specials have been interrupted with the victorious words of "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," from Paul Bremer, Presidential Envoy to Iraq. I like many others never thought I'd see the day that we caught Saddam.

Last night, I sat down to write my weekly SPIN bit. I decided to go online and see more up to the minute news. As I surfed my usual list of favorite news sites, I couldn't believe my eyes. On most sites there was no mention of the Saddam capture. To my dismay, sites were lined with the upcoming political race, shopping tips, weather bits, new movie releases and reviews, and old news from Iraq.

MSNBC, Newsweek, and a couple of foreign sites were some of the only sites that had coverage. So much for our beloved 'Net being up-to-the-minute. So much for content being king. Where the heck was everyone yesterday? Does Internet traffic tank on Sundays? Did TV win yesterday?

I'm sure stats will be released sometime this week citing a major shift in top searched words and increases to news and political sites. I only hope the content is worthwhile. So without beating a dead horse, I was going to jump on the bandwagon and share my Christmas list. Here goes (in no particular order):

Optimization. Optimization really is on-the-fly versus a matter of hours.

A new tool. A magical cure-all tool that allows me to put in buckets of data from audience composition and indices, trafficking, ad serving stats, optimization changes, email marketing, search engine optimization, paid placement, rich media, and the like.

Time. No, "I need this plan yesterday."

True integration. It would be kind if the offline media planners really do synch up with those of us in the online world when they actually go into planning. I mean after all, this is what most agencies pitch as their USP.

Richer media. The kind that isn't intrusive, that illustrates provocative creative, that is easy to implement, and affordable.

A Spam canner. Should I really go on here?

Better conferences. Why bother going to a place in the middle of nowhere (if you are invited, if your work allows you to go, and if you can afford it) and talk about the same crap all over again? Sure its great they have big name EVPs and CEOs talking about it but... come on, is this stuff really present day or are we just being polite? Do we only care about headliners with coffee talk conversation? Where is the meat?

Psychographic targeting. Sometimes my campaigns don't revolve around age, income, job, etc. Many big brands are about lifestyles. Allow me to see these stats before I begin a campaign and have to figure it out myself.

SEO needs to join the club. Search engine optimization has evolved to search engine marketing. Why hasn't the service been integrated into digital marketing as a whole? Isn't there a need for consolidation here? Look around a vendor showcase of any event. See how many "new" search firms are out there. Been there done that guys. Let's have a little camaraderie already.

More market share for us all.

Chanukah and Christmas may mean so much more with the most recent news. No matter what my list or your list is, I think its safe to say we all have something to think about other than the holidays this year. Yes Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus.