Real-Time Advertising Week: Making the Web safe for branding

« One city, five days and 60,000 ad execs | Main | Tweets of the day: @benkunz »

Making the Web safe for branding

By Brian Morrissey

As the advertising world descends on Manhattan this week for Advertising Week, the watchword for most is digital. Yet despite the lip service paid that the future of the industry is written in bits and bytes, the Internet after 15-plus years has still not proven itself as a branding medium.
"We need to concede that going back 15 years, without meaning to or thinking about it, we fundamentally created the medium to be a direct-response medium," said Randall Rothenberg, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
The Web wasn't built by designers but by technologists. That's led to a layout that, for the most part, is an eyesore—and creates an inhospitable canvas for great creative advertising. AOL, for one, thinks that needs to change.
Today, at Advertising Week, it is unveiling an ambitious plan to not only change the shape of advertising on its pages but the entire layout of the page. Code-named Project Devil, the nine-month effort has included the input of designers and creative agencies in the hopes of finding a way to break advertising out of its forlorn spot on the sidelines of content, where it's too often easily ignored.

"The Web itself needs a new facelift," said Jeff Levick, president of global advertising and strategy at AOL. "There hasn't been a fundamental redesign of content or Web pages."
Project Devil includes new ad units that blur the line between content and advertising. It calls for agencies to assemble new large units—they take up nearly half of the page—from a variety of advertising assets, including video, maps and social networking updates. Moreover, they provide a big canvas for product "hero shots," more reminiscent of magazine spreads than the current cramped banner spaces.
"If we really want to fix brand advertising online, we have to go directly to the creative community," Levick said. "We have to understand the limitations of today's unit that drives them crazy."
Too often, creativity—the heart of great advertising—has taken a backseat to the never ending quest for more fine-grained targeting. Marketers like targeting, but it's hardly the stuff of building great brands.
"[Web advertising] has failed as a rich experience compared to TV," said Nick Law, North America CCO at R/GA. "We do a lot of banner work here. Almost all of it is about effectiveness. As a creative medium, it doesn't have the same narrative capabilities as more traditional mediums."
Rothenberg believes that, at times, the industry has gotten too obsessed with emphasizing technology at the expense of "aesthetics, beauty and cleverness."
The result has been the top creatives in the industry view display advertising as a necessary evil. Instead, they'd rather create across the larger Web, particularly using the sight, sound and motion of video.
Mark Beeching, CCO of Digitas, believes display ads can be reinvented as "dis-play" units: outlets for creative executions in branded entertainment and utilities.
For instance, Digitas poured most of its energies and budget for Philadelphia Cream Cheese into a branded entertainment effort with Paula Deen. The banner portion of the campaign was rethought to use the units to distribute the content directly from the unit, rather than "advertise the advertising," as Beeching calls it.
"That's where we started to get bigger and bigger engagement," he said. "It was a complete shift. It became a very important leg of that campaign."

September 27, 2010 in Digital | Permalink

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

We've been going this direction for a year now with our Feature advertisers on our site and it's been a huge success:

http://www.ourbigearth.com/category/rainy-day-book-club/

http://www.ourbigearth.com/category/kid-led-learning/

Etc.

So, we're completely on board and inline with this direction.

Ken

Posted by: Ken | Sep 27, 2010 4:49:21 PM

If the web/digital, as described, "...isnt proven as a branding vehicle/channel" /"reached its potential" in 15 years, maybe we need to think about that very potential and the definitions of objectives like "branding." Is the point that the web hasnt matured enough to be "like" TV? (Control versus resolution- remember that distinction) Would you say that radio hasnt matured because its not enough like Television? "Radio hasnt really evolved?"
A 3 minute emmersive online experience designed for lead generation has underlying code to support the front end experience; algorythms to evaluate the user potential as a prospect; and data formulas to enable scoring to estimate the prospects' potential to buy and future value. Very valuable "stuff" that enables customized offers and follow-up. But this same "user" (dont like that word) has also just spent 3 minutes with a brand- a branded experience with rich data and follow-up thusly enabled. Not bad for online. Granted, limited "reach" is a fair criticism; but this is more narrow-casting; or better said, though cliche- "targetted"or "self selecting."
Design will evolve overtime (I think it has); effective executions will become more commonplace as "best practices" get more widely adopted/ or at least just mimiced/copied.
Maybe the question isnt how the web has failed or fallen short as compared to another channel; but more, what are the great examples where targetted marketing objectives have been accomplished while simultaneously offering effective one-to-one/many engaging branding experiences.

Though I could be wrong.

Posted by: Peter | Sep 27, 2010 6:18:00 PM

Yea!

Even Volkswagen reinvented with the New Beetle. If the roads we use have changed, let us not just find bigger or better tires. Let us improve the road.

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. - Albert Einstein

For creative directors, graphic designers, and clients this means more options, more fun, and more attractive communications are on the horizon.

Gibron T. Williams is Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants, the best marketing consultants in the world - Ask Google.

Posted by: Head Honcho | Sep 27, 2010 7:36:24 PM

Good video post i like this informative article post on it to safe the web.
Nice blog.

Posted by: Custom Logo Design | Sep 28, 2010 3:33:16 AM

The question is, do web advertising work? Look at google for instance. Every other month or so, they have to come out with new rules to ensure advertisers that their system work. Because advertisers complain a lot that they are not getting value for the amount of money they spend in adwords. With so much competition out there today for any product. The best advertising I will say now is brand building.

Posted by: Android tablet pcs | Mar 6, 2011 4:44:30 AM

There is noticeably a bundle to learn about this. I assume you made sure nice points in features also.

Posted by: hollister uk | May 10, 2011 7:15:43 AM

just a note to let you know how much I'm enjoying your blog and looking forward to your book. You're helping me notice what it is that really matters to me, things I thought too trival to try to secure for myself before. Each of your posts resonates on some level.

Posted by: fashion jewelry | May 25, 2011 8:12:41 PM

Because advertisers complain a lot that they are not getting value for the amount of money they spend in adwords. With so much competition out there today for any product. The best advertising I will say now is brand building.

Posted by: Oakley Sunglasses | Jun 19, 2011 9:23:50 PM

at the expense of "aesthetics, beauty and cleverness."
The result has been the top creatives in the industry view display advertising as a necessary evil. Instead, they'd rather create across the larger Web, particularly using the sight, sound and motion of video.

Posted by: new era caps | Jun 19, 2011 9:29:29 PM

graphic designers, and clients this means more options, more fun, and more attractive communications are on the horizon.

Gibron T. Williams is Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants,

Posted by: oakley sunglasses outlet | Jun 19, 2011 9:31:11 PM

You're helping me notice what it is that really matters to me, things I thought too trival to try to secure for myself before. Each of your posts resonates on some level.

Posted by: oakley sunglasses outlet | Jun 19, 2011 9:33:11 PM

. Whenever i see the post like your’s i feel that there are still helpful people who share information for the help of others, it must be helpful for other’s. thanx and good job.

Posted by: vibram five finger shoes | Jul 2, 2011 1:22:54 AM

There is noticeably a bundle to learn about this.

Posted by: New Era Hats | Jul 14, 2011 10:50:01 PM

Good post. Very impressive. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: android tablet | Jul 15, 2011 11:34:20 PM

Took me awhile to read all the comments

Posted by: cheap caps | Aug 21, 2011 11:58:23 PM

Aguero Manchester City Jersey are supported by many supporters and inside a phrase, they help Aguero Jersey. We feel the Aguero Manchester City Jersey 2011 will very likely be accepted by far more and a great deal more individuals. Come on and obtain your Aguero Jersey 2011.

Posted by: soccer jerseys | Aug 28, 2011 9:41:42 PM

I’m positive my followers will find this article really useful.

Posted by: cheap uggs | Aug 28, 2011 9:59:17 PM

"Show me your luggage and I will tell you who you are" Louis Vuitton's 1921 ad for the perfect phrase interpretation of travelers and luggage between the closely linked

Posted by: renlewei | Aug 29, 2011 11:51:08 PM

You always can publish something absorbing that does not waste minutes of your life like what you see on countless other sites. This is very interesting and I will be back for more. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: diwali wishes | Aug 30, 2011 1:54:22 AM

"Show me your luggage and I will tell you who you are" Louis Vuitton's 1921 ad for the perfect phrase interpretation of travelers and luggage between the closely linked

Posted by: wholesale new era hats | Aug 30, 2011 3:18:59 AM

You can still publish something that has no absorption of waste minutes of your life that sees a host of other sites. This is very interesting and will be returning for more. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: vcan helmets | Sep 8, 2011 6:30:22 AM

I’m positive my followers will find this article really useful.

Posted by: cheap uggs | Sep 10, 2011 6:52:51 AM

Every time I see the post as yours is that I feel that there are still people who share useful information on help from others, it must be useful for others. thank you and good job.

Posted by: Keychains | Sep 12, 2011 7:39:36 AM

Thank you for your wonderful submission! I enjoyed reading, you can be a great writer. I promise I will not bookmark the blog and, finally, back then. I want to encourage them to continue their good work, have a nice holiday weekend!

Posted by: Rec to rec companies Dubai | Sep 15, 2011 2:55:58 AM

Very valuable "things" that allows personalized offers and monitoring. But the same "user" (do not like the word) has also spent 3 minutes with a brand, a brand experience with rich data and follow-up thusly enabled.

Posted by: joint pain remedies | Sep 19, 2011 7:28:46 AM

Making the Web safe for branding

Comments

Post a comment

Quick Links

Advertisement

Twitter