• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, August 8, 2005

Alright folks, time to get smart. Big money's being reallocated online so it's all the more important to be aware of the forces affecting rich media. Let's consider a few.

Firstly, there's the "one-stop-shop" phenomenon. Not only are digital marketers like aQuantive's Atlas getting 'rich,' but shops once devoted exclusively to rich media have taken on non-rich ad serving.

Eyeblaster, for example, just announced plans to launch AdVision by October. It will incorporate the creation, delivery, and management of client interactive, because, according to Eyeblaster's General Manager Doug McFarland, "Agencies and advertisers are tired of moving from platform to platform as they manage their digital campaigns."

As one CTO said after Eyeblaster's announcement: "We're all generalists now."

When DoubleClick, the consummate generalist, released its updated DART Motif product last week, some remarked that rich media had once and for all shed its niche status.

(I myself had to stop and reflect upon the event: "What has become," I thought, "of a world in which rich media is now mainstream, while Martha has been relegated to the fringes of society?" But I digress.)

DoubleClick's product, Motif Ad Kit 2.0, has all the makings of a classic: a dedicated Web site to streamline the authoring environment and make it easier to traffic ads and control work flows; a one-click "preview" mode so designers can get a live preview of rich media ads without leaving the Flash environment; ActionScript-free authoring, so designers don't have to write code for common functions; and a process that lets them create Motif ads in Flash with just a few clicks.

Alas, because of all this standardization, rich media is no longer exceptional simply by virtue of the fact that it is rich media. This is not to say that it can't be exceptional, however, and I must tell you there are some truly remarkable innovations on the way. I can share one or two with you right now.

One company, ARG Holdings, took anyone who was listening by surprise this week when its Tremor Network announced the launch of a contextual video ad network. I know you're familiar with targeted marketing, but the practice has yet to be popularized for the delivery of rich media.

Also, EyeWonder launched a new tech platform that can support two new formats of rich media ads - interactive banner ads and user-initiated video ads - and unify tracking and reporting for any video or non-video ads into a real-time, Web-accessible system.

The tracking system, known as AdWonder, can monitor the progress of video and non-video ads, using metrics including video interactions, rich media interactions, impressions by date and hour, and click-through rates. AdWonder can also include customized tracking tags for any other specific campaign features.

As you can see, rich media has had a busy summer. And autumn promises to be that much more interesting.

Referring to the $100 million acquisition of PointRoll, one CMO joked that any RM outfit ready for primetime is already writing their thank-you notes on Gannett Co. stationary.

Nonsense, you say?

Of course. But his comment does illustrate the raised stakes that every marketing executive needs to be aware going forward into the fall. So stay tuned.