The Devil Online Advertising: It is time for a Change

One of the things I have always hated about advertising (online and offline) is the amount of speculation it produces in order to replace/justify any common sense data. I received an article today about online advertising which clearly points out how messed up the industry is and how the lack of clear measurement is fueling misunderstanding, that ignorant advertisers are still being tricked into.

My friend James Sherrett from Boxcar Marketing has always said, “Marketing is an exercise of faith, not reason” and I completely agree. People justify anything as long at it represents their beliefs and values, with or without data to back it up, online or offline. It does not matter. This becomes especially interesting when a decision is made which lacks arguments that actually support a point of view. Sometimes, you can see how bluntly some people can contradict themselves in front of your eyes. I tend to believe that since job security is such a very strong driver for a lot of people’s actions, their decisions are often biased the minute their job security is at stake. We all have examples. 

I personally have been avoiding any form of speculation when it comes to advertising decision making and I am only interested in simple sentences such as: this campaign cost $10,000 and lead to $100,000 in sales. Therefore, the cost of sales is 10%. Period. Who says advertising has to be complicated. Keep it Simple Stupid. That’s what I sell. The right intent, with the right user, at the right time, at the right place, at the right price and yes, that IS relevancy 101. Search is where you can do this. Anything else is less relevant from the simple fact that the users are not looking for it in the first place. Check your stats, it will prove it. Speculation RIP. No wonder I became a strong search marketing advocate, measuring every I do, down the smallest detail. Damn, it is so simple, what is it that you don’t get?

Now, James sent me this article today which basically dissects online advertising into numerous pieces and make an attempt at defining its path for the future. It is contemplating ways to measure its effectiveness and modify significantly the current online advertising system. It is brilliant! That is why I want to share it around. It must be read by everyone in online advertising and especially those who believe in online branding, something online users are ignoring more and more and are being annoyed from more and more, FYI. Things are changing. You have been warned. Read the full article here. 

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Comments

1. Alex, thanks for the citation above. For me, I have to always make sure to remember that I’m just as guilty as anyone else in terms of making decisions based on faith, not reason.

   In the article you mention above I don’t fully agree with the writer that we need to dumb down online advertising. I think many of the arguments presented cater to the converted—folks already engaged in online advertising. And I think that the conclusion—that online advertising has to become more expensive—is completely irrelevant.

   Bad advertising, no matter what media, is already expensive, while good advertising, no matter what media, is cheap. Why? Results are what matter and you have to choose the right media and advertising in that media to get them. And when you get them, it’s worth it.

   No matter what media you’re working in, there is good and bad. To make the argument that online media is the devil is to miss the point. Bad advertising is the devil, whether online, on TV or anywhere.

   Posted by James on 05/30 at 05:05 PM