The new age of advertising

I’ve always had an eye for advertising. I grew watching it and now have a deep passion set on working in the advertising field. Through the years, advertising has greatly changed; from early black and white print ads to interactive ads on mobile phones. However, one medium is leading the new wave of advertising and it is the online media.

Advertising is moving to the Web
Source: newworldtel.com

Today, Web advertising is becoming more and more ‘in your face’ with “pop-up” ads, ads in forms of games, ads with sound effects and jingles, ads that swim across the screen and so forth (Brian, 2002). Nearly all Web sites are filled with ads. According to Rogers (2006) and Canning (2008), figures show that online ad spending is increasing albeit the financial crisis hitting the markets. This comes to no shock being that there are about 1,463 million internet users worldwide (Internet Usage Statistics, 2008). Hence, advertisers can benefit by targeting this huge market.

"Pop-up" advertisements
Source: sysfix.co.uk

Web advertising is intensifying with interactive ads, banner ads, advertising placed in blogs and social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo etc.) and even “pop-up” ads in instant messaging applications (Eg.: MSN messenger). Online companies such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN are greatly benefiting from this medium, being that their offer online products and services (Impact of Internet Advertising, n,d.). Hence, their consumers would be internet users.

Advertisements on MSN messenger.
Source: Tux Reports Network

Online advertising vs. Traditional advertising

What makes Online advertising powerful? Firstly, it’s ability to reach huge number of users from across the globe. The Advantages of Internet Advertising vs. Traditional Advertising (n.d.), states that information growth on the internet has caused the number of users and their internet usage to increase. Furthermore, online advertising is highly targeted. Online advertising offers targeting methods to ensure that those who see your ads will be most likely to purchase the product (The Advantages of Internet Advertising vs. Traditional Advertising, n.d.). Moreover, unlike print and broadcast advertising, online advertising is much cheaper and is available for long periods of time (Janoschka, 2004).

According to Janoschka (2004), online advertising is interaction-orientated and is meant to be directly activated (pp.47). Thus, unlike traditional ads, online ads are much more interactive and some even require the viewer’s interaction. For instance, ads in forms of games and “roll-over” ads. According to Walsh (2006), the advances of the Internet enable the use of many tools (hyperlinks, navigation bars, buttons etc) to attract and maintain interest (pp. 31).

Advertisers are slowly shifting to online advertising and some envision it surpassing traditional advertising. Funnell (2007) states that, change has already come especially in UK and in the States. However, traditional advertising will not fade away overnight, but with more brands considering a move to the digital world, this is soon to come.

References:

Brian, M., 2002. . ‘How Web Advertising Works.’ HowStuffWorks.com, viewed 4 November 2008, <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-advertising.htm>

Canning, S., 2008. ‘Web ads continue to shine brightly’. The Australian, viewed 4 November 2008, <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24614364-7582,00.html>

Funnell, A., 2007. ‘The changing face of advertising’. The Media Report. ABC Radio National Transcripts, viewed 10 November 2008, <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2097232.htm>

Janoschka, A., 2004. Web Advertising: New Forms of Communication on the Internet. John Benjamins Publishing Company. Internet Usage Statistics, 2008.

Internet Usage Statistics, 2008. Internet World Stats, viewed 4 November 2008, <http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm>

Rogers, D., n.d. ‘Digital advertising to kick TV’s behind?’. The Future of Media, viewed 4 November 2008, <http://blog.ipglab.com/?p=283>

The Advantages of Internet Advertising vs. Traditional Advertising, n.d. Implied by Design, viewed 4 November 2008, <http://www.impliedbydesign.com/articles/the-advantages-of-internet-advertising-vs-traditional-advertising.html
advertising.html>

Walsh, M., 2006. The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol 29, No.1, pp. 24- 37.