"More users guarantee success"
Online Advertising: The success of the Internet depends above all on the commitment of all market participants.
Online advertising The success of the Internet depends above all on the commitment of all market partners. WW: Mr. Theus, online advertising has been on a steep upward trend since the beginning of the year. How does this small boom manifest itself in the Internet department of Optimedia/B, G, Media? Patrick Theus* 2003 was already a very good year for Optimedia's "Interactive" unit. We were able to double the number of campaigns last year. However, this is first and foremost the result of the goal that we have been stubbornly pursuing for years to integrate the Internet into the media mix in a truly sustainable way. To take this step, media agencies need people who can make the actual performance of the Internet clear to clients. In personal discussions with clients, it must be possible to arouse the enthusiasm that the highly emotional medium of the Internet deserves.
So you see the future success of the Internet primarily as a communication task?
This is certainly a central part of the success. The fact that the Internet is not yet a natural part of the media mix also has to do with the previous specialization of the entire Internet sector. In most cases, the Internet specialist talks to the e-responsible person on the customer side. The holistic view is given far too little consideration. In addition, these discussions are often limited to the technical level, which is not enough to generate additional budgets for online media.
The high intensity with which more and more people are using online media stands in stark contrast to the still neglectful treatment of the Internet by advertisers.
Any agency that still excludes the Internet today is not doing "total media". This is because the online medium is increasingly covering the target groups. Until five years ago, it was mainly young men who used it. Since then, however, we have seen strong growth among women and senior citizens, for example. With the increasing number of users, the Internet has almost caught up with the average population.
In view of the sharp rise in
online advertising sales, clients now also seem to recognize this.
increasingly to be understood. Can we already welcome this development as a trend reversal?
What looks very good in percentage growth rates is still quite modest in absolute figures. I would therefore not like to speak of an actual boom in Internet advertising at the moment. But we are satisfied. I hope that we will succeed in further increasing the order value of the campaigns and thus shift even more of the traditional sector to the Internet. That makes sense, because you can achieve more advertising impact with the same budget. There are enough studies to prove this.
What else can media agencies do in this area?
We need to work together with creative agencies on how the high impact we are used to from traditional advertising can be transferred one-to-one to the Internet. The first steps have been taken, but there is still a lot to do.
On the other hand, the loss of image that the Internet suffered with the crash of the new economy is still having an impact. In your opinion, has this already been overcome?
The clean-up that has taken place in the meantime has certainly done some good. The wheat has been separated from the chaff and what remains are quality sites. Today, we have numerous portals and news sites that generate high reach, but also a broad spectrum of specialized sites that allow us to get close to our target group. The offer is particularly good in German-speaking Switzerland.
*Patrick Theus is head of the "Interactive" unit at
Optimedia/B, G , Media.
Interview: Daniel Schifferle
So you see the future success of the Internet primarily as a communication task?
This is certainly a central part of the success. The fact that the Internet is not yet a natural part of the media mix also has to do with the previous specialization of the entire Internet sector. In most cases, the Internet specialist talks to the e-responsible person on the customer side. The holistic view is given far too little consideration. In addition, these discussions are often limited to the technical level, which is not enough to generate additional budgets for online media.
The high intensity with which more and more people are using online media stands in stark contrast to the still neglectful treatment of the Internet by advertisers.
Any agency that still excludes the Internet today is not doing "total media". This is because the online medium is increasingly covering the target groups. Until five years ago, it was mainly young men who used it. Since then, however, we have seen strong growth among women and senior citizens, for example. With the increasing number of users, the Internet has almost caught up with the average population.
In view of the sharp rise in
online advertising sales, clients now also seem to recognize this.
increasingly to be understood. Can we already welcome this development as a trend reversal?
What looks very good in percentage growth rates is still quite modest in absolute figures. I would therefore not like to speak of an actual boom in Internet advertising at the moment. But we are satisfied. I hope that we will succeed in further increasing the order value of the campaigns and thus shift even more of the traditional sector to the Internet. That makes sense, because you can achieve more advertising impact with the same budget. There are enough studies to prove this.
What else can media agencies do in this area?
We need to work together with creative agencies on how the high impact we are used to from traditional advertising can be transferred one-to-one to the Internet. The first steps have been taken, but there is still a lot to do.
On the other hand, the loss of image that the Internet suffered with the crash of the new economy is still having an impact. In your opinion, has this already been overcome?
The clean-up that has taken place in the meantime has certainly done some good. The wheat has been separated from the chaff and what remains are quality sites. Today, we have numerous portals and news sites that generate high reach, but also a broad spectrum of specialized sites that allow us to get close to our target group. The offer is particularly good in German-speaking Switzerland.
*Patrick Theus is head of the "Interactive" unit at
Optimedia/B, G , Media.
Interview: Daniel Schifferle
