August 25

Internet, set to overtake TV in ad spending

Wikipedia is not just a website, it’s a social movement. It is living proof of what a few thousand properly motivated people can do with their time. If you follow popular culture, you are well aware that people are hanging up the remote in favour of the keyboard in droves. So much so that ad spending online is exploding worldwide.

However, in Q1 2008, TV ad spending was also on the rise (although just 0.5%). Even with audiences on the decline in North America, we are spending more than ever on commercials. TV commercials are still the single most popular medium and a place where many agencies hang their hat (including ours). But between the internet and technologies like the PVR and TiVo, it is getting harder and harder to justify the expense of TV to our clients.

Seth Godin asked the question, “How did people find the time to build Wikipedia given their already hectic lives?” As he correctly surmised later on, people are taking time out of their TV watching to spend creating web pages of knowledge.

My question is: When Internet finally becomes the medium of choice, will agencies be able to adjust or will they be forced to buy digital boutiques just to compete?

Source: Seth Godin