If we really want to make a difference within this industry, it’s going to have to start by addressing a lot of pre-conceptions that are stifling it.

Consider these statements which are often assumed to be true:

  1. All advertising activity is to be measured by response, even if it is branding
  2. All advertising is sold against channel, not specific content/story
  3. All advertising needs to be intrusive to be effective
  4. All advertising objectives are to get a user to travel somewhere else
  5. All advertising decisions sit with a sole creative concept with no bearing of user interplay on specific channels
  6. All advertising needs to sit alongside content, not within it
  7. All advertising that does not generate an immediate response is deemed as a failure
  8. All advertising should be sold per impression, not per unique user time
  9. All advertising should be auto-initiated wherever possible
  10. All advertising should be designed on a 30″ Apple monitor and not tested on a PC laptop

And we wonder why clients are still nervous about spending money online?

Then let’s be even bolder and state the following:

  • Creative agencies have own agenda to create micro sites
  • Media agencies need to drive traffic through to said sites to justify spend
  • Media owners justify means of delivering said traffic
  • Clients just want to sell stuff to consumers

Does it not strike you that there may actually exist a conflict of interests between the client and the people they employ on their behalf…?
– What about the user experience? Does traffic driving work? Do micro sites work?
– Or is it a case of ‘shhhh don’t ask, the client spends money with us and we don’t want to rock the boat.’

Fact: The client would spend a HECK of a lot more money with us if they saw tangible results!

And by that I mean ‘conversions’.