• by Tom Hespos , May 10, 2005

Editorial guidelines for advertising predate the rise of the Internet by many years. Particularly in print advertising, marketers who place ads often want to know ahead of time about articles in any issues in which they advertise that could detract from their message. Similarly, these advertisers often want to know about opportunistic editorial that enhances their message, so that they can arrange for editorial adjacencies.

The expectation that an advertising presence can be fine-tuned to leverage editorial is nothing new. This dynamic, however, manifests itself in a much different way online, mostly due to the medium's real-time nature.

One of the reasons why placements in chat, message boards, instant messaging, and other areas where users have input tend to sell for below-average CPMs is that advertiser demand for these placements is historically low. This lack of demand comes from a skittishness on the part of the advertiser to buy ad placements in areas where consumers might post messages that reflect poorly on an advertiser's product. I've heard more questions about how advertisers can reasonably expect to control the message than I care to count.

Truth be told, advertising in such areas is risky. But this is typically a function of how advertisers and marketers have historically dealt with negative editorial. They're used to having in-advance notice about such editorial from print publications and other traditional publishers. Dealing with negativity within an online ad placement in real time is not something that advertisers are used to coping with.

Avoiding consumer-generated content online may have worked in the '90s, but it's increasingly harder to ignore every day. There are over 31 million Web logs, expected to grow to over 53 million by the end of the year, according to Perseus Development Corporation. But blogs are only a part of the story. Added to the ever-increasing army of bloggers are the folks who create online animated films, people who regularly post to message boards and discussion lists, and people who use chat forums and instant messaging. More and more of the content on the Internet is user-generated every day.

When you take a look at this trend, it's becoming clear that a day of reckoning is, if not here already, looming on the horizon for advertisers who typically avoid consumer-generated content. The opportunity to advertise in these areas seems to be on its way toward outweighing the potential risks. Properly leveraging that opportunity will take quite a bit of adjustment on the client side.

One thing that is abundantly clear is that merely placing ads within consumer-generated content isn't enough. In many cases, consumers will spout off about ads, products, companies, brands, and their experiences with them. Advertisers must be poised not only to react, but to participate in these conversations. If this sounds like a lot to swallow, consider that those conversations are going to take place with or without the presence of the marketer. At some point, consumer-generated content gets so huge that it cannot be ignored, and the smart marketers will adapt to make their presence felt within the dialogue. Indeed, agencies like Carat are encouraging their clients to blog, and one wonders how those clients will tweak staffing and workflow to accommodate day-to-day participation in online conversations.

That participation can't be faked. Consumers will want company representatives to comment on things like customer service, why a product was designed the way it was designed, how the company will address a market need, and much, much more. They're also going to want advice, help, and support for their individual needs. Canned press releases and standard marketing-speak responses are not going to cut the mustard here.

The upside, though, is that any company willing to make the investment in meaningful communication with consumers through these channels will experience something that is sorely lacking with today's consumers - loyalty. A two-way presence that addresses consumer wants and needs will separate those who strive to develop a loyal customer base from those who would rather fake it and stick to the broadcast model of message dissemination.