• by Masha Geller , May 18, 2001

Just when I thought this depression about the current state of web ad affairs was beginning to subside, Content Intelligence Group of Lyra Research came out with another downer. Unfortunately, I'm left to wonder what inspired them to do so, and moreover, tell anyone about it.

I have just a few points of dissent. First, their so-called study, which surveyed "top executives" in the business, concluded that the cause of the "collapse" in Web advertising spending is a "simple case of imbalance in old-fashioned supply and demand -- too many sites chasing too few ad dollars." Hmmm... Haven't I heard that theory before?

Moreover, I have to categorically disagree with anything titled "Web Ad Autopsy," which implies that web advertising is dead, and it most certainly is not.

Lyra did point out that numerous factors contributed to the current slump - "Web publishers and agencies alike bear some responsibility for their plight; the publishers failed to prove the value of Web ads, and the agencies gained easy profits without learning to use the medium."

Unfortunately, almost every member of this industry has spent the last few months debating this very topic and has already come to terms with the above, so why do a research study if you can't provide any new or noteworthy insight?

The research article concludes that, "while chastened, Web publishers and advertising agencies are likely have a bright future but will have to work harder to convince advertisers to fully embrace the Web." Thanks! We didn't know that!

Here's an idea: please stop trying to reinvent the wheel under the guise of research. Instead, there are plenty of already-identified things that need fixing in this industry – let's work on that.