It's no secret that marketers are devoting ever-larger portions of their budgets to digital campaigns. And there are some very good reasons for this spending shift.

Digital ads have an immediacy shared by no other medium. Sure, TV viewers, radio listeners and magazine readers can be persuaded to dial a 1-800 number or head to a store, but only a web or mobile ad can transform a prospect into a purchaser with a single click.

Digital advertising is effective--and it's also very affordable. Compared to rates for media like TV or radio, the costs for a digital promotions can fit into practically any-sized budget.

More importantly, digital advertising is accountable. Because it's so easy to track click-throughs and related behaviour, publishers can track visitors' responses to digital ads with a very high degree of precision. Digital advertisers also have the ability to modify programs on-the-fly. If a placement or format isn't getting the expected response, it's easy to tweak elements to see what kinds of changes might lead to better results.



Of course, digital advertising isn't an all-or-nothing proposition. Digital ads can be a highly effective way to leverage broader campaigns whose main messaging appears in more traditional media. Studies show that including an online component in a promotion that's primarily print-based, for example, can significantly boost that promotion's effectiveness. (One such study was 2002's landmark research by the Advertising Research Foundation, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, MSN and researcher Rex Briggs.)

These studies' finding make sense: a newspaper or magazine ad only has so much area to work with. Using a print ad to drive readers to a website where information can be presented in greater detail--and interactively--is a proven strategy that gets real results.

Of course, interactivity is ultimately what's most appealing about the digital world. On the Internet or a cell phone, consumers can connect with brands in ways previously unheard of.

What's more, the means of digital interactions are changing quickly. For one, Internet advertising's not just about banners and buttons any more. On the web, users can enter contests, play games, view videos and upload their own content onto promotional websites. Meanwhile, 'Net advertisers are getting savvier about using contests and other opt-in promotions to build databases of qualified consumers who consent to providing personal information in exchange for a chance to win a prize or get more information about products they're interested in.

Consumers are also becoming more accepting of Internet ads, and are increasingly willing to interact with them if the products or services those ads promote clearly have value for them. For example, eMarketer cited a recent study that looked at the likelihood of U.S. consumers to respond to online ads and found that the answer was "quite a bit," as long as respondents were interested in the ads' subjects.


Even with all these exciting advances, digital advertising is still in its infancy--and its potential seems virtually limitless.


* Source: Traffic Marketplace/Vendare Media, Synovate January 2006 study published March 2006 and cited by eMarketer. N=1,000. Multiple responses allowed.