Branded and Video Advertising Key to Future: eMarketer's Ramsey

Branded and Video Advertising Key to Future: eMarketer's Ramsey

by Gavin O'Malley, Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007 6:00 AM ET

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AS THE ONLY GROWTH MARKET in the world of media and marketing, online ad
spending will expand 28.6% this year, according to eMarketer CEO Geoff
Ramsey. Next year, digital ad spending will increase 32%--amounting to
nearly $28.8 billion, Ramsey said in his opening remarks at OMMA New
York on Monday morning. The future? Branded and video advertising, said
Ramsey, assuring that branding dollars are fast on their way to matching
the budgets spent on search.

"With video, you can do a heck of a lot better job of storytelling," he
said.

Now big business, Web videos are watched by 72% of Web users--or 135
million people--every month. Ad spending around them is set to hit $775
million this year, and $1.3 billion by next year.

With YouTube in tow, Google is poised to lead the burgeoning video
market, and grab the bulk of ad dollars flowing into the medium,
according to Ramsey.

What are the greatest challenges facing online marketers today? Audience
fragmentation; ad clutter; consumers' eroding trust in marketers; and
something Ramsey likes to call "trend-itis"--or the propensity for
marketers to blindly follow trends without implementing proper checks
and balances.

Ramsey spent a good portion of the morning knocking various research
firms and the industry at large. TNS Media Intelligence, he noted with
disbelief, has yet to factor search into its online ad spending numbers.

As things stand, 76% of marketers say ad agencies don't provide them
with sufficient data on ROI. Most marketers, said Ramsey, express a
"vague undercurrent of discontent with their agencies."

Additionally, nearly a fifth of consumers (18%) report that they dislike
all forms of advertising, while only 6% currently believe the claims
made by marketers.

Gavin O'Malley can be reached at gavin@mediapost.com