Venture capitalist Baris Karadogan says the greatest opportunity for investment on the Web isn't online video. If the ad industry is to grow from $16 billion to $30 billion in 5 years, he says it will
be because new ad formats and new places to put them crop up. "Our eyes are already beginning to ignore the 'ad gutter,' no matter how relevant the search engines are trying to make them," he says,
adding that the long-term success of pre- and post-roll ads is still questionable. What will the future be? Online ads inserted into video content, he says. There are already technologies that place
ads inside user-generated images and video that executes this in a number of ways. Imagine a video of a runner wearing Adidas shoes. These technologies could replace those with Nikes, for example. The
end product is essentially the same--just digitally placing a product in a TV re-run that wasn't in the original. Then there are online ads that actually are content. Think of coupons on search
engines. Somebody searching for pizza in a specific area could add a coupon icon next to their sponsored listing on Google. Karadogan says that studies have shown consumers click on coupons 10 times
more frequently than text ads. Other examples are casual games that companies develop to entice consumers to win something, like movie tickets or other promotional products. People play to win, but
the game is little more than a gimmick to get them to see an ad. Finally, Karadogan says, in-game advertising is the next area that will see innovation. The amount of advertising that could be seen in
a virtual world is far bigger than the potential for text ads--assuming the amount of time spent by a small group of people in virtual worlds is equal to or greater than the people searching for
products. It isn't yet--but then again, the marketing opportunities in those worlds are only just being tapped.
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