• by September 7, 2000

By David Cotriss

International Data Group (IDG), a Boston-based leading global provider of Information Technology (IT) media, research, conferences, and expositions, and publisher of the popular "For Dummies" book line, is expanding its use of webcasts as a marketing method, providing a good case study of webcast advertising usage. The company's increase in webcast usage correlates with an overall rise in the use of ads in streaming broadcasts on the Internet.

According to a recent Arbitron Internet Information Services study, over 75 percent of advertising agencies buy online advertisements, and one out of five who purchased online also placed webcast ads. Additionally, market data increasingly supports the commonly held belief among ad executives that webcast usage will increase significantly in the next three years. Jupiter Communications predicts that by 2005, 9 percent of all Web advertising will be streaming media, further illustrating the trend.

With these sorts of sweeping predictions, it brings into question why such growth would occur, and if webcast advertising is justified with an adequate ROI. How to measure the ROI of such advertising is, in and of itself, a major question right now.

IDG is clearly confident in the ability of streaming media to deliver enough revenue to make for a viable marketing concept. ITworld.com, the primary webcast site for IDG, was launched in February of this year with the general mission of aggregating content from IDG's publications while wrapping additional services around that content, such as training, communications services, and IT career information. The site delivers a very specific audience of IT professionals, making it a business-to-business play.

Webcasts are an increasingly significant portion of those additional services. "The initial idea to use webcasts came from IDG's strong roots in face-to-face dealings," explains Bill Reinstein, CEO and President of ITworld.com. "By taking that talent to the Web, we are able to save customers and vendors time. This allows senior-level executives to go on a worldwide 'road show' they'd never otherwise have the time to go on. This doesn't replace the benefits of face-to-face meetings, but augments them in a way that saves time."

Two webcast formats are used -- an editorial format and an advertorial approach. On the editorial side, the site is just launching its fourth monthly program about IT called "The Networked World." Produced like a TV feature, the editorially-driven show contains valuable content and offers advertisers sponsorship opportunities. These opportunities include a combination of traditional (banner, ezine, and print) and broadband (streamed ad) elements.

Advertorials are custom, live webcasts produced by IDG and lasting 30 to 60 minutes. Content is driven by the vendors sponsoring the webcasts, which have included IBM, Sprint, and Dell Computer. It is important to note that both the editorial and