- Online advertising is still trending upwards. Though analysts are rushing to downgrade earlier forecasts, the updated estimates still show online advertising in a growth mode. Personally, I'm seeing interest that never existed before in online advertising from clients and prospects. While these advertisers may be bailing on other mediums, they're transferring dollars online -- which is perfectly fine by me!
- Twitter and social media. When people in my parent's generation have gotten excited about Facebook and Twitter, you know that social media has hit the mainstream. Though social media advertising has been slower to catch on, just the mere fact that social media now attracts so many eyeballs means that marketing innovations in the space will continue. Next year, Twitter promises to reveal its monetization plans, which it apparently believes to be big enough to have led to its turning down an acquisition offer by Facebook. For selfish reasons, I'd like to see some kind of killer advertising solution, but with Twitter addicts abounding, I can't help but wonder if Twitter will go the route of usage plans a la cell phone text messaging.
- Internal Integration. With our powers combined, individually we will become stronger and much more tech savvy online guru’s. Working together in expanding our skill sets and delving in head first into the wide world of online advertising. God speed.
- Online video consumption. Growing as an alternative to TiVo, consumers can turn to their PCs to watch their favorite television broadcasts along with unique content. This gives advertisers new opportunities to reach their audience and in a more captured way than on television. With users these days not only watching TV, but consuming both, online content through their laptops and watching television at the same time.
- Mobile. Every year the pundits predict it will be the "year for mobile." I don't know if 2009 will be "it" either, although in saying that we will defiantly be working together in building our name in this space, coming up with new and innovative ways to integrate mobile into our campaigns wherever possible! Also there are certainly newer, more interactive phones like the iPhone, Blackberry Storm, and the promise of Google's Android have kept consumers spending and application developers busy developing. Ads already appear on these devices and, unlike SMS ads, don't cost the user anything additional. Get ready for more to come. Watch this space.
- Search. With tighter dollars, advertisers want better ROI and search marketing is still the clear winner in this category. Experienced, proven search engine marketers who not only provide service but also the much needed strategic thinking and analysis behind it, will succeed. With Columbus on board we need to always involve them in creating our search platforms and make sure they are across all marketing campaigns in 2009.
- Lower prices. Since publishers aren't seeing ad revenue like they thought they would, they've lowered CPMs. So MPG when buying online media will be in a better negotiating position, therefore better spots for us to work with. New online ideas are also always more than welcome, if you see an online space and you think it will work for your campaigns, forward it on, there is no harm in asking…
- Niche advertising. The Web provides the perfect storm for niche advertising: reach users with very specific subject matter when they're highly engaged with that subject matter -- and do so in a way that fairly easy and highly flexible to produce. Time and again, niche Web site advertising has proven it can out-perform general online advertising. The trickiest thing for the media planner is to find that these sites even exist.
- Collaboration. When times get tough, people pull together to get through it. In industry speak, this is known as collaboration, something I'm a huge proponent of. Whether that's working more closely with clients to generate ideas, or bringing together synergistic strategic partners to create a more complete solution, I know we will all be seeing more collaboration in 2009.
- The Obama factor. We're about to inaugurate the most technologically-savvy president of all time, and hopefully what his team learned as it leveraged the Internet to his gain will carry forward into Barack Obama's policies. The potency of the Internet has been solidified, despite whatever's going on in the economy.
I'll close with this thought: The only thing that's predictable is unpredictability. Five months ago did we ever think our gas prices would be as low as they are now? The longer we all want to dwell on the negative instead of helping to create the positive, the longer that will be our fate. Chin up, people! It's time to rock and roll! Online is our way forward…
A special thanks to Shani Tomkins for donating Issue 7 of SoHotRightNow!
Cheers
Greg
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