IMPAQT News
Online Advertising: Clean Up On Aisle Five
June 29, 2005
Whether or not you agree with Godin, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the stories about us are often ugly outside of (and inside) our industry bubble. Though we are finally starting to get our own news tabs in publications like The New York Times, Forbes and Reuters (getting noticed is good), the coverage we as an industry receive is too often bad. The world outside of our online-savvy-selves remains pretty ignorant to the many positives we have to offer.
Melissa Burgess, Director of Business Development at IMPAQT (and ADBUMb columnist), pointed to the aspect of fear that has come to dominate public opinion when it comes to online advertising and attributed much of it to what people see on TV.
“It’s very much [the result of] the euphoria of the Internet,” Burgess explained. “I see the AOLs, the NetZeros, the Netscapes that all talk about privacy protection and pop-up blockers and spam blockers, and I think they are just as guilty as the advertisers who are instilling that fear.” She pointed me to a recent commercial she saw where a mother was talking about her concern for her child’s safety online. What could be scarier than bringing the kids into it?
Matt Haag, an account executive at Direct Response offered his thoughts on our industry’s bad rap: “If we want to succeed as a whole in the industry, which is in all of our best interests, we need to be more proactive in the advertising message that we’re not all bad guys,” Haag expressed. “If we don’t start getting painted in a positive light, we could be in trouble.”
Media Contact:
IMPAQT Marketing
412.733.7100
marketing@impaqt.com
