The opportunities provided by online advertising are increasing all the time and while exciting it can also be daunting for brands with a more traditional media focus.
The online space is undoubtedly the current growth area, and ISBA has been active in it since the beginning. But with progress and maturity come a number of considerable challenges, such as audience measurement or location and regulation of advertising content.
Although online advertisers can make use of site-centric methods of measuring audiences there are currently no measurement systems that match the user-centric metrics of traditional media. It is increasingly important for advertisers to know who is seeing their material online, as well as where they go and what they see, which is why ISBA has been involved with the Joint Industry Committee on Internet Measurement Systems (JICIMS) since 2003, to develop an industry owned currency.
Although online display advertising falls under the CAP code, the online space is relatively unregulated but government and NGOs alike will press for strict regulation unless industry self-regulates effectively first.
The almost limitless supply of websites and pages means that much web advertising is bought ‘blind’ through advertising aggregators. This can lead to respectable advertisers’ ads appearing in inappropriate or unsavoury environments. ISBA simultaneously warns advertisers of the peril of buying blind while pressing for more responsible site owner and aggregator inventory management.
ISBA’s Digital Action Group gives an opportunity for members to gather together and discuss their own experiences and examine new trends, both in regulation and marketing opportunities. While much of the money spent online is still channelled through paid search and other response advertising the growth of the medium as a brand building tool is a constant factor in discussions.
The group is a focal point for sharing best practice and is an important forum for airing regulatory issues and advertisers’ own views on how the space should continue to develop. Its members benefit from early warnings of industry changes as well as adding their expertise to ISBA’s official advice for our wider membership.
The Digital Action Group welcomes representatives from across our membership and has its own resource page here.
51 Kb | 14 Mar 2008
