If
Business Week says it, it's so: advertisers are a lot wiser about the Web these days. Why? Measurability has made the medium irresistible to national advertisers, who, for so long, have
lamented the waste inherent to a business built on a foundation of imperfect measurement. Of course, not all Internet numbers are perfect, either. There are problems like click fraud, for one thing,
and the fact that some 10 percent of Web users regularly erase their cookies makes it clear that for all its counting, Internet advertising isn't an exact science. But it's continually coming up
coming up with new and inventive ways to track consumer interaction with the Web. For example, the article says certain agencies can now track how consumers move their mouse cursor on the
computer screen. Behavioral targeting provider TACODA Systems is said to be readying a study where a brain scanner analyzes how ads register in the mind of a group of Web surfers. Exciting stuff for
the ad industry, to be sure, but these and other breakthroughs are sure to separate the men from the boys in Net advertising, says Rishad Tobaccowala, head of Publicis Groupe's new media consulting
firm Denuo. He says the future of the Web will belong to an exclusive online elite, able to entice consumers with incentives to give up data--promotions, discounts, more relevant information, etc. He
expects a "flight to quality" in Net advertising; others, including Avenue A/Razorfish GM Jeff Lanctot, believe most of the big money will now move away from search, which is settling, and towards
display and video. But advertisers in this space will be hungry for better measurement, which is where the next big advertising industry battle is now taking place.
Read the whole story at Business Week »
