Generic marketing instead of "Ellbögle
The Swiss online advertising industry needs a strong voice that publicizes the possibilities
The Swiss online advertising industry needs a strong voice to publicize the opportunitiesBy Clemens HörlerThe online advertising industry is ailing. What is needed now is strong generic marketing and educational work. But the industry has no audible common voice. The Swiss Internet Advertising Bureau has so far been able to achieve little.
The fact that the online advertising industry is not doing as well as it should has been whistling from the rooftops for a long time. But numerous case studies have shown that online marketing can lead to success. So why, despite a growing online community, does advertising on the Internet account for only a measly one percent of the advertising pie?
One reason is probably that many advertisers are not yet properly aware of the possibilities available on the Internet. "Many decision-makers and consultants from the traditional advertising industry are still too little educated about the possibilities of online marketing," observes Christoph Morach, Managing Director of Qualiclick Switzerland.
This situation is exacerbated by the fact that representatives of the online advertising industry often speak in terminologies that are unfamiliar to traditional marketers, advertisers and media planners.
"Peter Strassmann, Managing Director of ActiveAgent Switzerland, is convinced that "strong generic marketing is needed to boost the online advertising industry. In Switzerland, however, there have been only rudimentary signs of generic marketing supported by the entire industry, including educational work. Instead, intermediaries and marketers are fighting tooth and nail for market share.
Are the Swiss copying the German model?
The Internet Advertising Bureau Switzerland (IAB), actually predestined and created for a unified appearance of the
industry, has so far been able to attract little attention. The board of the IAB (www.iab. schweiz.ch) is overloaded. "We have far too few financial and human resources," explains Martin Radelfinger, President of IAB Switzerland and Managing Director of AdLink Internet Media Switzerland. After all, he says, most of the board members and members of the working groups are more than 100 percent busy at work. For Morach, too, the double workload of many members is an important reason why the Swiss IAB has so far achieved hardly anything worth counting.
For the future of the IAB, Radelfinger sees greater opportunities under the umbrella of a stronger association. Soon, the IAB's General Assembly will vote on whether to join the Swiss Interactive Media Association (Sima). Radelfinger: "The model of an IAB working group with representation on the Sima board corresponds to the German IAB model, which works very well."
Radelfinger and Morach see light on the horizon in the relationship between marketers and intermediaries: they sit down together and discuss measures for generic marketing.
Interest in a thriving online advertising market has already driven individual marketers and intermediaries to raise their voices for digital marketing beyond corporate and product advertising.
Real Media, for example, teamed up with Borsalino.ch and Search.ch and other website operators. In November 2000, they held the New Media Circle, which was aimed primarily at representatives of media agencies.
Already the first moves for generic marketing
The event was intended to promote greater integration of new media into the advertising and media planning of traditional agencies. Due in part to personnel changes at Borsalino and a fundamental restructuring at Real Media, there has not yet been a new edition. Above all, the co-organizer Search
.ch continues to be active
and organizes seminars on the subject of online advertising, for example, as part of trade fairs, which are not simply advertisements for its own platform.
Qualiclick also wants to take the classic advertisers to task and, together with the BSW, offer advertising agencies help and tips on advertising on the Internet and seminars at bswjobs.com. At present one is still in the process of generating contents for the Website, explains Morach. The first seminars are scheduled to take place from June 6 to 8. The high number of registrations so far speaks for the need for information. According to Morach, Qualiclick is endeavoring to place the events at the service of generic marketing and not simply to promote itself.
In mid-May, ActiveAgent also made its mark as an organizer for the first time: According to Strassmann, ActiveTalk is to become an information and discussion platform for new trends and technologies as well as successful case studies. Strassmann: "In traditional advertising, a lot of money is thrown out the window - but no one can measure it. Online, things are different. The many bad examples spoil the reputation of the medium rather than that of the online advertiser. And that's why it's so important to do outreach and education to get many more successful examples."
Self-interest can always be seen behind these individual and small alliance initiatives. However, this need not be negative if the entire industry were to have a strong common voice. Not only marketers and intermediaries are called upon, but also website operators. The activities of research companies that collect data on Internet usage also ultimately serve the industry.
The fact that the online advertising industry is not doing as well as it should has been whistling from the rooftops for a long time. But numerous case studies have shown that online marketing can lead to success. So why, despite a growing online community, does advertising on the Internet account for only a measly one percent of the advertising pie?
One reason is probably that many advertisers are not yet properly aware of the possibilities available on the Internet. "Many decision-makers and consultants from the traditional advertising industry are still too little educated about the possibilities of online marketing," observes Christoph Morach, Managing Director of Qualiclick Switzerland.
This situation is exacerbated by the fact that representatives of the online advertising industry often speak in terminologies that are unfamiliar to traditional marketers, advertisers and media planners.
"Peter Strassmann, Managing Director of ActiveAgent Switzerland, is convinced that "strong generic marketing is needed to boost the online advertising industry. In Switzerland, however, there have been only rudimentary signs of generic marketing supported by the entire industry, including educational work. Instead, intermediaries and marketers are fighting tooth and nail for market share.
Are the Swiss copying the German model?
The Internet Advertising Bureau Switzerland (IAB), actually predestined and created for a unified appearance of the
industry, has so far been able to attract little attention. The board of the IAB (www.iab. schweiz.ch) is overloaded. "We have far too few financial and human resources," explains Martin Radelfinger, President of IAB Switzerland and Managing Director of AdLink Internet Media Switzerland. After all, he says, most of the board members and members of the working groups are more than 100 percent busy at work. For Morach, too, the double workload of many members is an important reason why the Swiss IAB has so far achieved hardly anything worth counting.
For the future of the IAB, Radelfinger sees greater opportunities under the umbrella of a stronger association. Soon, the IAB's General Assembly will vote on whether to join the Swiss Interactive Media Association (Sima). Radelfinger: "The model of an IAB working group with representation on the Sima board corresponds to the German IAB model, which works very well."
Radelfinger and Morach see light on the horizon in the relationship between marketers and intermediaries: they sit down together and discuss measures for generic marketing.
Interest in a thriving online advertising market has already driven individual marketers and intermediaries to raise their voices for digital marketing beyond corporate and product advertising.
Real Media, for example, teamed up with Borsalino.ch and Search.ch and other website operators. In November 2000, they held the New Media Circle, which was aimed primarily at representatives of media agencies.
Already the first moves for generic marketing
The event was intended to promote greater integration of new media into the advertising and media planning of traditional agencies. Due in part to personnel changes at Borsalino and a fundamental restructuring at Real Media, there has not yet been a new edition. Above all, the co-organizer Search
.ch continues to be active
and organizes seminars on the subject of online advertising, for example, as part of trade fairs, which are not simply advertisements for its own platform.
Qualiclick also wants to take the classic advertisers to task and, together with the BSW, offer advertising agencies help and tips on advertising on the Internet and seminars at bswjobs.com. At present one is still in the process of generating contents for the Website, explains Morach. The first seminars are scheduled to take place from June 6 to 8. The high number of registrations so far speaks for the need for information. According to Morach, Qualiclick is endeavoring to place the events at the service of generic marketing and not simply to promote itself.
In mid-May, ActiveAgent also made its mark as an organizer for the first time: According to Strassmann, ActiveTalk is to become an information and discussion platform for new trends and technologies as well as successful case studies. Strassmann: "In traditional advertising, a lot of money is thrown out the window - but no one can measure it. Online, things are different. The many bad examples spoil the reputation of the medium rather than that of the online advertiser. And that's why it's so important to do outreach and education to get many more successful examples."
Self-interest can always be seen behind these individual and small alliance initiatives. However, this need not be negative if the entire industry were to have a strong common voice. Not only marketers and intermediaries are called upon, but also website operators. The activities of research companies that collect data on Internet usage also ultimately serve the industry.
