Mantic Media

Lots of interesting reading today, and a lot of big news to consider. In case you’ve been away, the financial markets are ablaze (not literally but close) with the collapse of Bear Stearns. I won’t pretend to know where this is going (if anyone does) but this not your average cyclical downturn. Until this plays out, I’ll hope for the best and hang on the words of those who know better.

But in online ads (non-search), people are starting to ask the tough questions, namely, do they work? And does anyone with a brain click on them?

The money quote comes from Jakon Nielson (via AdAge).

The basic point about the web is that it is not an advertising medium. The web is not a selling medium; it is a buying medium. It is user controlled, so the user controls, the user experiences.

Couldn’t agree more. But something’s missing. Nielson is right when it comes to the first generation of web ads (banners) and he also recognizes the effectiveness of search ads. But what about brands?

Battelle sees brands as the next revelation in online ads (as opposed to the mass networks like AdSense) and discusses value creation in the media business. His 3 part series on conversational vs. packaged goods media is a gem. He says the big brands are yet to fully embrace and utilize the web (as the direct marketers have). They are afraid, and justifiably so, of the horrors user generated content could inflict on their pristine creations.

This is a dilemma. How to protect brands, yet allow the interaction that embodies the web? Not possible, at least in the way we think of brands today. The web strips away image and reflects reality (or at least public perception).

But I think the NEXT BIG THING is the socialization of the transaction. Instead of going to someone else’s house buy goods, buyers go to a neutral site (similar to a real life market place) where they can interact with other buyers and gather information to make the purchasing decision.

People who want to buy, being shown the offers they want to see, with sellers competing for their dollars. And the parties engage in continuous dialogue.