Media Malfeasance: Observations From the Front Lines: Still Wondering…Why Is There So Little Online Media Advertising? - Matthew Greene - MediaBizBloggers

I feel so strongly about the bone-headed math that agencies and advertisers insist on perpetuating in the digital arena, I'm compelled to elaborate on my last blog -- Wondering All the Way to My Grave. For those who haven't read it, I painted a brutal, but accurate picture of this 'bone-headed math'. Here's the CliffsNotes version:

· Over 93% of all consumer sales and transactions occur at retail (that's a $4+Trillion annual retail marketplace vs. $156 Billion in e-commerce marketplace)

· Over 40% of all consumer media consumption occurs on the Web

· Yet, only 6.9% of all advertising media as measured by TNS, went to online media channels

I clearly struck a 'digital' nerve since this article generated an impressive amount of comments on MediaBizBloggers.com. At the same time, I received many email responses from industry leaders across all media channels.

Everyone completely agreed with my assessment about how misguided most marketers and agencies are when it comes to allocating their media budgets.

· Everyone thanked me for pointing-out the insane math that still guides the advertising and media business.

· Everyone also agreed that my tone and manner may have been a tad too provocative. I thanked those who offered their opinions and replied "when I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!"

Actually, I truly believe my being a provocateur is well intentioned and appropriate to the mission. The mission? To share-shift at least 30% of all ad dollars to digital channels.

One of the main problems, and a large hurdle, is the way brands and retailers have set up their businesses. Since the web's very beginning, the e-commerce divisions of these companies have been relegated to the 'back room' with a sole mission—use the internet to drive online sales and drive ever-increasing ROI. These folks have the deepest knowledge of the online space in their respective companies, but are not encouraged (or in some cases even allowed) to share this knowledge with their retail or brand partners. This creates a huge disconnect…it is bone-headed thinking!

I read a great article on this very topic, http://tinyurl.com/ykbml6j. Briefly, in an online study by Forrester, they have found that many eCom execs recognize this trend and want to change it. In fact, the article states that "Roughly 32% of business executives responsible for e-commerce and/or channel strategy say their company lacks a vision for providing consumers a consistent multichannel experience."

These companies are all still stuck in the mindset that online marketing drives online sales, and traditional marketing drives offline sales.

True cross channel marketing is the only way to break this cycle and allow consumers to decide how they want to make a purchase; recognizing that there is rarely ever one point of contact in any marketing strategy that causes that sale.

By embracing the cross channel experience, marketers will truly be able to take advantage of not just the web's potential, but all media. It will also get us closer to the goal of 30% share-shift to online.

And much like we were able to predict back in the '90's that the e-business owners within major manufacturer companies, and retailers, were destined to become 'heroes' within the company by virtue of the accountability, and profits, that e-commerce generates, we predict that whoever owns and champions cross-channel marketing within these same organizations will become super-heroes.

Matthew Greene has over twenty-five years of strategic advertising and marketing experience working with blue-chip companies. Matt can be reached at matthew.greene@blueribbondigital.com

Read all Matthew's MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Media Malfeasance: Observations From the Front Lines - MediaBizBloggers.

Follow our Twitter updates @MediaBizBlogger