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Richard Cacciato, Partner

Online marketing checklist for 2007

Ad:tech 2005. The view from 20,000 Feet.

Converting Click- Throughs to Customers

The Internet. It's Here to Stay.

Ad:tech 2005. The View from 20,000 Feet.

Want to know the "big picture" of what's happening on the internet these days? A good place to start is Ad:tech, the internet media/marketing/technology conference, which took place Nov. 7-9 in New York. The growth in attendance from 5,000 last year to 8,000+ this year is a sign of the internet's coming of age as a serious medium that must be an integral part of the marketing mix. I was asked to blog the conference and provide perspective on the sessions for MarketingVox, an online marketing publication.

Ad:tech 2005 had feeling of energy, reflecting the growing effectiveness of interactive in the marketing mix. Attendees and presenters generally agreed that we've entered a new age, a more mature version of the "wild west" period of the late '90s in which out-of-control spending was disconnected from traditional business objectives. Now it's all about results. Some observations:

• There is a projected shift of marketing budgets away from television: from 67% devoted to television in 2004 to 50% in 2006; most of the shift is to interactive. With the advent of Tivo and broadband, consumers are shutting out traditional advertising and spending more time online. This cuts across almost all age groups. Television isn't dead, but its role is being reevaluated.
• Another budget shift: from telemarketing to interactive. As companies increasingly rely on their websites to provide customer service functions such as answering questions and providing information, they realize significant savings and efficiencies by handling those online.
• There is a growing appetite for peer reviews and consumer-generated content, particularly through blogs and podcasts, resulting from mounting suspicion of advertisers' motives.
• Consumer products companies are using interaction mechanisms such as online offers and coupons to build long-term relationships with consumers. In the process, they're building "house files" of consumers to use for targeted database marketing.
• The internet's inherent "narrowcasting" capability permits very targeted communication with audiences. Even smaller companies can develop deep one-to-one relationships with their audiences via e-mail and the web in a very cost-effective manner.
• There's frustration with websites focused on technology or creative design at the expense of a strategic vision. With companies more intent on seeing results from their interactive initiatives, having an effective web presence becomes even more important.

The Ad:tech conference included sessions on such topics as online branding, building effective websites, blogging and podcasting. You can read my blogs here:

• Website Fundamentals: Twelve Years Later
• Creating a Bomb-Proof Brand Identity
• Become a Hero at Your Company... How to Leverage Your Existing Website to Generate Increased Profitability
• Simple Principles for all New Media Marketing
• Keynote: On the Wings of a Dream: Kevin Roberts, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi

At Blue Iceberg, we approach web projects based on years of line operating experience running real businesses. We take a real-world grounded approach with a strategic view coupled with nimble execution. Our clients tell us this is the key to the successes of their online initiatives. If you're interested in discussing a web project using our approach, please contact us.