Q&A with AOL Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis
iMedia Connection: "Leonsis will present the keynote address, "Not New Media: THE Medium," at September's iMedia Brand Summit in San Diego.Weeks: What is the future of content online? What are some of the newer forms of content delivery that you see taking hold in the industry, and what are the implications to marketers? How is this medium evolving? How will content formats evolve?
Leonsis: The great news about content online is that it will continue to proliferate and become more and more personalized and user-generated. Real Simple Syndication -- RSS -- is allowing everyone to become an editor; blogging and the ease of producing audio and video content are allowing everyone to become a publisher or performer.
Plus, as search becomes more and more powerful, it becomes both a form and an enabler of content. It will allow users to locate and download the information and entertainment they are looking for -- both produced and user-generated. Already, the web's versatility and capabilities are making it the hub for music and video entertainment, both live and recorded, video and audio, connected to home entertainment systems.
Weeks: What are the opportunities for marketers in the post button and banner online world?
Leonsis: The real opportunity for marketers can be described in one word: performance. CPM, CPC and CPA are coming together, and it's no longer about the form of marketing or the sheer number of impressions -- it's about results. The medium can now target ads based on response data including behavior, geography, time of day, the type of creative and more. We can instantly know what's working and make adjustments. And with increased bandwidth and the explosion in rich media, we can provide more creative approaches that capture attention and engage users.
Advertisers no longer have to echo the lament attributed to F.W. Woolworth -- "I know that half of my advertising budget is wasted. The problem is that I don't know which half." None of your marketing budget has to be wasted. It can go where you want it to go and achieve the results you want it to achieve.
Weeks: What's the best advice you can give a marketer for success in today's marketplace?
Leonsis: I would tell a marketer to stop thinking about the web as "new media." It's now the medium. Instead of making the interactive medium an add-on in your marketing spend, make us the first stop -- and spend the leftovers on the old media.""
posted by Jen @ 5:18 am
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