Live coverage of ad:tech San Francisco by David Shabelman.
In a roundtable on the state of the digital advertising industry at the ad:tech conference Wednesday morning, panelists emphasized that even with all the knowledge Web sites can gather on their users, challenges remain in digital marketing.
First and foremost, panelists emphasized that content remains king and that the message being delivered to consumers remains an important factor, though it must also be followed up with a great product. Carol Kruse, vice president of global interactive marketing for The Coca-Cola Company, said “if the story isn’t compelling, it doesn’t matter how well targeted it is, people aren’t going to look at it.” One of Coke’s most successful online efforts is a fan page on Facebook that wasn’t even created by the company, but has attracted millions of users that enjoy the product.
Neil Ashe, president of CBS Interactive concurred, saying despite all the information it has on its users, “the most measurable medium is the most difficult to understand.” While CBS is able to do effective advertising on its video game Web site Gamespot, he admitted it still is learning how to better serve products like Coke.
One solution, they said, is to enhance a consumer’s experience with the message rather than be seen as a disruptive. As an example, Coke worked with CBS in its online efforts that surrounded college basketball’s March Madness. Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of digital consulting firm Denuo (a part of Publicis Groupe), said advertising agencies must increasingly work with not only with their clients, but also with the technology company delivering the advertising.
Panelists also mentioned how mobile platforms are becoming a larger part of online marketing programs. Jeff Berman, president of sales and marketing for MySpace said the site has seen a five-fold increase in mobile traffic over the past year. Suffice to say, no word on the rumors that his CEO Chris DeWolfe was stepping down as CEO of MySpace.
For more coverage ad:tech SF, visit our overview page here.
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