Falling ad revenues call for 'smart' marketing practices

Nielsen's new figures point to a significant decline in ad spend. According to the figures, ad spend has declined by 5.28% in Q2 of this year and, if we're to believe the figures, we must all be shuffling a little uncomfortably in our seats. For the first time, for a long time, marketers will find themselves under scrutiny from within their organisations, to justify the value of their investment.

In the course of our lives as technology PRs, we meet lots and lots of marketing managers / directors and executives who geniunely feel trapped by the status quo. They stick to what they believe are tried and tested methods because it's a) all they know and b) just too hard to persuade their board of directors that it's high time something changed. The fact is, however, that the spin has finally become a reality and there really are tools that can help beleagured businesses show the real worth of their strategies.

Arguably, online advertising doesn't work in its current form. Psychologically, consumers have trained themselves to ignore traditional online ad units - when was the last time you actually clicked on an online ad? They are seen as annoying, intrustive and irrelevant.

So what's the answer? One thing's for sure, consumers are looking to engage with brands in a way that makes it easier and more gratifying to purchase products and services online. One of Racepoint Group's newest clients, Tailgate Technologies, is pioneering an approach that should put the power of ROI back in the hands of the marketers - which, with any luck, will put confidence back into the power of online advertising.

The model is simple - transform a traditional online marketing unit into a secure point of sale. Allow browers to click and buy - there and then. The model is being used by companies such as Warner (around the launch of Gotham Knight) to sell merchandise - others are using the technology to sell tickets, book holidays and make charitable donations. It seems so obviously the silver bullet for marketers who want to demonstrate genuine ROI around online marketing.

If this model is embraced, consumers will not be bombarded with relatively useless adverts but will instead interact and be able to use a range of applications to perform relevant tasks. Better still, publishers can create content-based container applications that allow the right messages to get to the right consumers.

Online display advertising is here, and it's here to stay. The time has come to transform it for the better, for everyone involved. The good news is, this revolution is well underway.