Almost three-quarters of marketers surveyed say they are unhappy with the state of online advertising. 73% of brand marketers and media agency executives say the consumer experience with digital marketing needs to be improved.
The report is from the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) that’s bullish on digital media. In its study of 280+ brand marketers and agencies, it underscored the concerns both sides of the advertising process have about what they’re getting. The biggest concern is advertising clutter, followed by the creative quality of the ad, and a match between the ad content and the user content (which I call environment).
Add to that the issues that have been in the news recently:
- Facebook overestimating video plays for more than two years
- The ad agency Dentsu recently had to admit it overcharged 100+ clients for digital ads. 633 cases have been found so far topping $2.3 million dollars, according to the Financial Times.
- Google’s DoubleClick (which has a 75% share of the ad server business) losing accreditation because it isn’t meeting standards for counting how an ad is viewed.
- Toyota is suggesting its digital ads are not working. Proctor & Gamble (only the world’s largest advertiser) concluded that targeted digital ads don’t work to move product. General Electric, JP Morgan Chase, Sears, and Nationwide are reported to be launching audits of the digital agencies.
- The Association of National Advertisers, a trade group more than a century old, finished up an exhaustive study of the agency business and found persuasive evidence of “non-disclosed rebates, not returned to advertisers, in the forms of cash, free media inventory, and service agreements.”
Perhaps this unhappiness is why nearly 60% of the industry’s top 100 spenders say they are putting their agency business up for review (meaning considering a change in agencies), according to an Advertiser Perceptions study published in The Wall Street Journal.
“The pressure that agencies are under has been growing. We’ve probably seen more change and more negativity in the marketplace than ever before.” – Perceptions Group CEO Ken Pearl
That’s on top of the reported $20 billion dollars in media spend from companies that already have some part of its agency business being reviewed, including those from the world’s largest advertiser, Procter & Gamble Co.
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- Facebook has been over-estimating video plays for two years
- Google lose accreditation for viewable impressions
- Digital Advertising under fire right now
There is huge potential in digital advertising, but there are going to be some bumps in the road. Newspapers and publishers have had more than 100 years to work out the kinks. Radio and TV have had 60. Digital advertising, especially on mobile, is still in its infancy. I’m confident it will get there, but not without a few more bumps.
Ad buyers are finally starting to ask the right questions – what works and what doesn’t? We applaud that. For too long, people have been spending their money on the next “bright shiny object.” It MAY be the next best thing. It may also be a waste of money. The best campaigns show the results the clients need. Both buyers and sellers need to agree on the results and how a campaign will be judged.
The big question marketers are asking is “are we getting real value for what we are buying.” — Grant Leech, US Cellular, VP/Brand Management in WSJ.
We’ve seen first hand in working with hundreds and hundreds of clients over the years that digital advertising (heck, any advertising) done right will work.
We’ve seen some brilliant results from the right creative, in the right medium, shown to the right audience at the right time.
Doing it right will yield results, bring about sales, and grow your business. Advertising, regardless of medium, has always been about that?
Paul Dughi.com 