• by February 6, 2001

These days, anytime I read the words "next big thing" used to describe an advertising concept, I hear warning sirens. Especially if the story mentions upcoming launches of corresponding services from notable companies. So forgive me if the jury's still out on the following:

The concept at hand is "co-registration" - a process commonly referred to as lead-generation, which allows a web user to sign up for an advertiser's service or opt-in to their email list while filling out a form on another website. It's generally paid for on a cost-per-acquisition basis ranging from 50 cents to several dollars per name depending on targeting and data gathered.

According to a recent article on MarketingSherpa.com, "co- registration" is expected to be the "next big thing" in online media buying.

The story goes on to say that Advertising.com and L90 are both launching new technologies this quarter to enable marketers to place co-registrations on targeted sites and collect names on a real-time basis. "Their publisher reps are busy signing up the best sites to offer this media sale."

Additionally, the story says marketers will soon be able to target offers to specific demographics based not only on the site and the visitor's browser info but also on the contents of any online form they've just filled out.

Interestingly enough, the writers themselves say many agencies and marketers don't even know what co-registration is yet. That will certainly change soon, but we all know how slow we are to adopt new concepts in this industry. Moreover, an Advertising.com official is quoted warning eager marketers not to expect many B2B sites or highly niche categories (the very sites that offer the best targeting opportunities) from the networks yet.

Someone please tell me how - in today's climate of super-tight ad budgets and huge emphasis on better targeting - is this going to be the "next big thing?"