THE 95TH ANNUAL conference of the Association of National Advertisers took place at the Biltmore Hotel, in Phoenix, Arizona from 6 – 9 October. More than ever before, new media technologies, email and online-related topics took center stage at the conference.
“The future isn’t coming; it’s here,” said Jerri DeVard, senior vice president for marketing and brand management at Verizon Communications. “What are you and your company doing to go beyond what you’re delivering now?” Ms. DeVard shared insights into Verizon’s new marketing mix, which was bad news for traditional advertising media channels. In the last four years, Internet spending shot up from 3 percent to 11 percent; whereas newspaper ads fell 7 percent to 18 percent and television from 33 percent to 20 percent.
With the majority of people spending more time at their computers than watching television or reading newspapers, it only makes sense that the focus shifts to advertising online and through email. For substantially less money than traditional advertising, companies can connect one-to-one with their market via email campaigns. There are just under 1 billion people using the Internet today. For online marketers, it’s like the Super Bowl, everyday!
