• by December 7, 2007

As long as we treat online as just an extension of the traditional media, it will not realize its full potential. There are lots of pure plays out there who have sales teams who are focused and passionate about the medium. They are our competitors, and we cannot effectively compete without the same kind of focus and accountability.

Unfortunately, a combined sales team will lead with the traditional medium, relegating the online medium to a "gift-with-purchase" or a "would you like fries with that" status. Borrell reports that online revenues and market shares are much greater when there is a dedicated online staff.

When online is treated as just an extension of the traditional medium, content also suffers. That's when you see things that work in another medium just repurposed for the Web. Since the Web is consumed differently by both the advertiser and the viewer, the result is not as good as when content is developed specifically for the Web.