The message is just as important as the delivery medium.
Stefanie Berliant
Media Coordinator
Last week I had the pleasure of attending AdTech in San Francisco. There was much to see and do; two floors of exhibitors and 3 rooms of seminars.
Highlight speakers included Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia; Jason Kilar, CEO of HULU; Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of Denuo; and Shelly Palmer, Managing Director at Advanced Media Ventures.
Much of the conversation at the conference centered around the role of display advertising, and how "creativity" still plays a strong part in online advertising. Creativity was defined at AdTech as ideas, not just words and pictures; and story telling which connects people emotionally and intellectually. The best way for a company to promote its brand or product online is to research who their audience is, then test out several tactics using analtyicts tools to measure which tactic the audience responds to the most, and finally use creativity and innovation to continue the conversation with the audience.
Display ads help drive emotion in consumers which then generates buzz and engagement. Of course this means companies must create meaningful content in order to establish relationships and give users a quality experience. "Creativity" is force behind the convergence of search and display advertising as display ads help drive search not only online but offline as well.
There is a fundamental difference between advertising and marketing. Consumers are ultimately in control; they choose when and how they want to see ads. Companies need to find a balance between giving the consumers what they need and promoting a brand/product . This balance where content/utility = advertising is called marketing.
