Online 2 offline and vice versa

From: Shalabh Pandey <shalabh_pandey_at_greyindia.com>
Date: Fri 13 May 2005 21:30:08 -0500

I see an interesting trend. Lots of mainstream ad sales guys moving in
to online advertising. Rather I should say lots of online companies and
web publishers have started taking in ad sales or client servicing or
account management people from press and TV sales background. I guess
this is obvious and as the Online Advertising pie grows, it'll see more
and more 'switching' media.. happens to an extent in traditional media
too. Rather I guess that's good because that'll bring in a lot of 'best
practices' and does in put a stamp to the fact that this is a 'hot'
industry to be in. I just people are not coming in for the internet
glamour (yes there still is something like that!)

But my question is- do we see the same openness happening to traditional
media as well? I mean would a mainstream agency be keen to take on a
person from an interactive background? Or would a TV channel be open to
taking a person from a website or an interactive focused agency?

Also, more importantly, is an Online Advertising person considered good
(mature) enough to take on duties of a Marketing person? The general
feeling seems to be otherwise. While I guess organisations are open to
taking people from a mainstream agency or even a BTL agency, an
interactive profile seems to be, well, 'not well groomed'. I guess this
is because most people at the helm are still from traditional marketing
background, so they themselves do not understand deeply. Secondly that
an organisations major budget still goes into mainstream media and
marketing. But below the line?

To my mind, an Online advertising professional is more suited to don the
marketing job.
a) He is into Direct Marketing (E DMs, personlisation, eCRM, etc)-
accountable marketing
(b) He would've been into the same process that mainstream follows- he
would have bought/sold media and would have compared
maintream/traditional with online; he would've been into the creative
aspect (The same as an mainstream agency- briefs, co-rdination)- Online
creatives need equal if not more time and processes to be conceptualised
and executed, and released ads online.

As a matter of fact, they have an edge: innovation and working on an
extremely dynamic, cut throat (thin absolute margins for agencies) and
rather uninhibited (no universal media reach/stats ) medium.

Your thoughts in your respective regions. And Ahem! I'm NOT looking :))

Regards
Shalabh





Received on Fri May 13 2005 - 21:30:08 CDT