The Internet has definitely had a huge impact on almost everyone’s life. One of the biggest areas it has impacted has been the way advertisers formulate their marketing campaigns. The Internet has opened paths that were never dreamed of before. Advertisers now have a plethora of methods to gain exposure for their products. Online advertising provides numerous methods to deliver product information to consumers.
One way that Internet advertising has affected traditional advertising is the method of injecting an ad directly into another medium that the consumer is already interested in. This concept is not new, but the methods used are definitely revolutionary. Television has previously used this method in the form of commercials that appear between segments of a program. The invention of DVRs has made it possible for a potential consumer to skip right through commercials. One technique that grew out of online advertising is to inject an advertisement directly into the program the viewer is watching. Product commercials, in which TV show characters use specific brands of products, are now everywhere. This exposes products to potential customers without distracting them or taking away from the show. This placement means that when it is ignored during a commercial, the potential customer will still be exposed to the product during the program they are watching.
Due to these new communication processes, mass mailings are following the path of the dinosaur. You no longer need a large budget to send thousands of mailings. Marketing campaigns can be viewed by millions of people daily for a very small amount of money on web sites. Online advertising is also much better for the environment, which is always a good thing in this modern, environmentally conscious world we live in.
The Internet also provides new methods for reaching customers, both old and new. An example would be small video ads that are displayed while users are waiting for an online video or game to load. Advertisers have a captive audience during both of these examples. Users want to access the item they’ve selected, so most are happy to see an ad or two while they patiently wait for their content to be delivered. This way feels different than TV commercials, because content on the internet isn’t always instantaneous and most users appreciate having something to occupy their minds instead of staring at a blank screen.
Another way that Internet advertising has affected traditional advertising is that it is cheaper and can expose products to many more consumers. The cost of entry is cheaper and millions of viewers around the world, who spend several hours every day online, can watch ads. The price per viewer is much lower for online advertising. Additionally, online marketing is more geared towards ad placement on sites that are already targeted to specific people, geographic regions, and cultures. Online advertising also provides much better conversion tracking, as advertisers can tell when users are actually actively trying to learn more about products as a result of their advertising.
Internet advertising has definitely had a huge effect on traditional advertising and has opened up a whole new world for marketers.
