• by Michael Drexler , July 2, 2001

Research has shown that online transactions and online retail advertising continue to grow in the face of an economic downturn and decrease in overall ad spending.

So what is it that encourages this kind of activity during these difficult times? There is only one answer and it is that online advertising can help make the cash register ring.

The ultimate metric that makes the most sense for retailers is simple - sales. And the Internet seems to be doing its job in this area: cost-per-sale is undoubtedly the key online metric for e-tailing, and it appears that online advertising helps to push offline sales as well.

But, what's more important is that new creative formats are used to produce even greater response. With the adoption of new standards and unit sizes issued by the IAB and the fact that numerous forms of rich media are being applied, I believe that the Internet is now establishing maturity in the marketing world.

If you look back at how other media evolved, it's clear that they began with limited advertising applications. Fixed newspaper ad sizes and positions evolved into new dimensions, free form, expanded editorial positioning, pre-prints, sampling, etc. Radio and TV went from standard 60-second lengths and sponsorships to longer and shorter commercial units, vignettes, infomercials and product placement. Magazines added die-cuts, inserts, advertorials, gatefolds and micro-encapsulation. Outdoor brought spectaculars, backlites, dioramas, giant wallscapes, computer painted vinyl and other developments.

Every medium needs to reinvent itself every few years to be more responsive to its audiences and more attractive to its advertisers. This involves not only addressing the needs for placement but the needs for creativity as well.

Online, banners and email will always be an integral part of the communication application for advertisers on the Internet. But streaming and, more specifically, broadband are vastly changing the way the medium is used and how advertisers view it. While broadband, whether DSL, cable modem or satellite, is still in infancy, it will greatly accelerate our options for creativity and messaging on the Web. Without a doubt, as soon as consumers establish the price/value relationship of having broadband in their home and penetration increases, advertisers will jump in with both feet. And, finally, the Internet will become a mainstream medium that goes far beyond direct response with Fortune 500 companies using it for all the reasons traditional media are used today.

Don't even think about counting out the Internet as a powerful communications channel. While it started with advertisers as unrealistic promises and unfulfilled expectations, it is clearly evolving into an effective communication vehicle. And many more leading advertisers are figuring out their own strategies for using it.

To me, the real challenge is to think more about what the Internet wants to be when it grows up and how it will provide the kind of realistic measurement and performance metrics we need. But, let's not get so egotistical that we think we can provide answers in a vacuum. Even with interactivity, we need traditional measurements for inter-media comparisons. If the Internet is to become part of the general media mix we must include reach and frequency, frequency distribution and multi-media optimization as well as comparable audience measurements.

That will not commoditize the medium, I assure you. The Internet is going to be a major medium someday, right alongside the others, so let's learn how to evaluate it on the same benchmarks as traditional media in addition to its unique attributes. And work in tandem with those who came before.

- Michael D. Drexler is Executive VP at Mediasmith, Inc. and integrated Interactive Media planning and buying company. During his 41 years in advertising he has been Media Director of Ogilvy, DDB and FCB as well as Chairman of TN Media.