• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, May 12, 2004

As summer approaches and the sun shines later in the day, you can expect to see one of the most cluttered ad environments in recent history, and I'm curious as to how this will affect the interactive industry.

This summer represents something of a "Perfect Storm." Summer movie season is upon us and the advertising and marketing efforts go far beyond commercials and product tie-ins. The online world has fast become an integral part of entertainment marketing and we can expect to see web-slinging, bone-crunching, magic-spell-incanting ad units all over the place. It is also the period of the Summer Olympiad, which brings along all sorts of product tie-ins, sponsorships, endorsements and "official" this and that. The third front in the storm is the impending barrage of political advertising, continuing from the television efforts we've been seeing as of late and utilizing the web's more communal efforts of information gathering as potential voters seek information on their candidates.

This summer represents a very interesting time as we will likely see an influx of more traditional advertisers and marketers increasing their interactive efforts in order to compete with one-another. This, undoubtedly, will create a shortage of supply and an increase in demand, which obviously results in rate increases for key sites and placements. The sites offering a wide reach opportunity will especially win here as they can compete with many traditional vehicles when it comes to efficiently speaking to a larger audience segment.

It should be noted that these three categories of advertisers are also very broad in nature. In order to be successful, these categories need to speak to everyone. Most movies need huge summer openings. Politicians need a vocal majority to vote for them. Credit card advertisers and the other sponsors of the Olympics need mass audience reach in order to grow and increase revenues. Where will all of this leave the niche audience and the more targeted sites?

I anticipate a move towards the larger reach vehicles in general, and the niche sites might suffer as a result. Ad networks and larger portals that aggregate many audiences will probably benefit the most as they may get away with increased rates. The niche opportunities and smaller sites that speak to a unique audience might not be included in these broader efforts as the traditional marketers will likely spend with the sites they know. The niche sites may need to find ways to include themselves on these buys by offering more enticing packages that include video and exclusivity. These types of offerings will provide a competitive advantage for these sites, and make it easier for them to be considered and included in these broader efforts. Many media folks will go for the broader areas first and limit the complexity of hundreds of smaller sites when they can use five sites in aggregate to generate the same reach. Of course this will apply pressure to the broader sites to incorporate more unique opportunities, and the vicious cycle will continue.

But then again, who am I to agree with higher prices and less complexity?

What do you see as potential hurdles or happenings in the ad world this summer?