In the year 2007, an online survey conducted by IBM, showed that the television sets were losing ground to the internet when it came to personal leisure time. 19 percent of all respondents stated that they spent six hours or more per day on the internet versus nine percent of respondents spending the same amount of time in front of the television (www.bit-tech.net).
In the year 2008, according to IAB, (in spite of the financial crisis, internet advertising grew 10% in 2008. More specifically, it was about $23.4 billion in 2008 versus 2007’s $21.2 billion (www.techcrunch.com).
For the year 2009, the forecast is that Internet advertising is expected to increase over 2% whereas newspaper ad revenue is estimated to fall by 12% and magazine ad revenue is expected to be down by 12.5% (www.lab.77agency.com).
Why is internet advertising increasing? Why do people prefer internet over television for their leisure time? What benefits do company get when advertisement is digital?
Internet advertising is increasing because we, the customers, are enslaved to our demanding schedules that no longer allow us the luxury of sitting down in front of television set and enjoy a 30-60 minutes show embedded with numerous advertisements. Our fickle nature gravitate us towards interactive, exciting and challenging applications that Internet provides. The internet advertisement becomes an intrinsic background in our world of entertainment.
The world of internet opens up search engines for us. We no longer want a product pushed on us (via persistent TV or magazine advertisement). We want to search more about the product and the company. Is the company eco-friendly? Is it keeping its employees happy? Is it selling services or products that are available at the right price? In a nutshell, is the company working for us? We are looking for an intimate relation with the company that is not possible in one-page advertisement or one minute TV time.
For example: Take a look at the fan page of Starbucks. In less than one minute you can see how Starbucks connect to its fans, how they are involved in saving lives in Africa, how they are listening to their fans and bringing in sugar-free syrups and much more. Another example is American Eagle Outfitters. Be their fan and enjoy their weekly coupons, lucky draw, giveaways, news and polls. Long gone are days when the weekly mail would bring in coupons that we would save for the weekend shopping. All you need to do now is log in to your Social Media Application, print out the coupons of your favorite store and shop whenever!
So what can companies learn from our perspective? The companies should really stay focused with current advertising media. Once you become a sociable brand by utilizing Social Media as Facebook, Twitter or Myspace, then all you need to do is show your interactive side. Don’t just let your Fan page be a one page advertisement, in fact make it a volatile and dynamic streamer keeping its fans up to date with news, discussions, sale and coupons. Once you become a sociable brand, you are no longer targeting a specific demographic area, but you are reaching out all over the world. So be sensitive to this information. Reach out to your fans and your customers all over the world. Internet advertising gives you a niche with your 21st century fans!
