NONE: ONLINE ADS>> Reflections on One Year of Online Ads
ONLINE ADS>> Reflections on One Year of Online Ads
Cliff Kurtzman (cliff_at_tenagra.com)
Wed, 18 Jun 1997 11:39:56 -0600
Last Friday marked the end of Tenagra's first year of operating the Online
Advertising Discussion List. This post takes a look back at what our two
external and two internal objectives were in taking over the operation of
the list, and at the progress we have made in fulfilling those objectives.
Our first external objective was to provide a forum for professional
discussion of online advertising and promotion. I think that the list has
indeed become a steady source of information on the latest happenings in
these areas. There has been a lot of good discussion on what is really
innovative and what is noise and on which strategies really work, and which
do not. Sometimes I would like to see more depth and analysis, but it is
hard to do that in a forum mostly limited to short postings.
The collective voice of the discussion list has caused major industry
players to change their policies and provide accountability for their
actions. And I've noted that many of our list discussions have led to news
stories in publications such as Web Week and Advertising Age.
I've been very pleased to see an ever greater participation on the list by
people from larger organizations. We are now as likely to see a post come
from someone at Procter & Gamble or C|Net or a large advertising agency as
a post from an independent consultant. I think that this change adds a
depth and perspective to our discussions that was lacking in our first six
months. While the number of the subscribers to the list now stands at over
4,300 people, our goal has really not been to sign up a lot of subscribers
-- rather, it is to gain participation by the right subscribers within the
industry that can contribute to making this a worthwhile forum.
I believe this list is at its best when it is a professional discussion
among peers of industry trends, happenings, developments, and strategies.
The old Internet Marketing Discussion List, which shut down just as we were
starting up this list, died after two years of operation, in large part
because it stopped being a discussion among peers and became little more
than a forum for folks new to Internet marketing looking for free
consulting. We get a lot of post submissions from people asking either
basic questions ("what is the difference between a hit and a visitor?") or
looking for someone to do their homework ("will someone please send me the
e-mail addresses of the 100 online media buyers with the biggest budgets?")
and these kind of posts only make it through moderation on very slow days.
In general, posts that contribute information to list members as much as
they draw from the list are much more likely to make it past the moderator.
We do feel for those who are new to online advertising and have so many
questions, but if this list goes back to the basic stuff too often, it will
lose its utility among the more experienced players in the industry. They
will leave the list, and the list will cease to fulfill the role we want to
see it fulfill.
We've had several discussions on the list over the past year about the
appropriate level of moderation and volume of list postings that should be
sent through to list members. The overwhelming consensus of the list
members has been to filter things fairly heavily through moderation. Many
of our list members find it challenging just keeping up with the digest of
ten or so messages we send out each day. We will continue to filter fairly
heavily so that the list volume remains manageable to the majority of the
members.
I know how much time people invest in writing up posts and how
disappointing it can be when yours does not make it through moderation. If
your post is a reply to another person's post, it is always a good idea to
cc: the person on your reply so they will see it even if it does not make
it by the moderator.
A second goal of this list was to continue the online community and
networking opportunities that had previously been supported through the
Internet Marketing Discussion List. I've noted that several people have
defined themselves and their companies as leaders within the industry,
largely through their positive contributions in this forum. While many of
us are competitors in this industry, in large part we are all in the same
boat -- we are defining a new industry as we go, and very few are making a
profit at this yet. These are turbulent times, and the cold reality is
that some of the entrepreneurial organizations participating on the list
today won't be around a couple of years down the line. As the saying goes,
if we do not all hang together we will surely all hang separately.
At its best, this list has served as a tremendous vehicle for people to
meet others in their industry and build beneficial business relationships.
I was rather overwhelmed by the huge turnout to the dinner Tenagra hosted
before the Web Advertising '97 conference, and look forward to hosting
other similar offline networking opportunities in the future.
Lest you think we have been entirely altruistic in our plans, our two
internal objectives involved providing direct benefits to our own
organization. One objective in operating this list was to help maintain
and expand the mindshare and brand awareness that Tenagra had developed
within the Internet marketing community since 1994. Along with the Tenagra
Awards, my frequent speaking at conferences, Tenagra's steady visibility in
the press, and the work we have done for our clients, this list has
contributed to Tenagra becoming one of the best known Internet agencies in
the business. Being a high-end Internet agency based in Houston (we are a
spinoff of a NASA-sponsored technology incubator), there is unfortunately
meager opportunity in our home town to work with the kind of national
advertisers that have the budgets to build web sites and online advertising
programs that are novel, innovative, and will keep our staff challenged and
our organization commercially viable. Our growth and evolution as an
organization has required building a broad geographic visibility and client
base for Tenagra. The contacts we have made through operating this list
have certainly helped in this regard.
Our final objective in taking on the list was to provide Tenagra internally
with a mechanism to stay at the forefront of what is happening within the
industry and to continue to grow professionally. From experience, I can
tell you that there is a huge difference in level of involvement between
operating a list like this and just subscribing to it. Both Richard Hoy
and myself along with others at Tenagra have learned a tremendous amount
from the experience. I've been very pleased to see Richard expand the
original concept through his Ad Bytes reports and other activities. I've
also been very lucky to have Richard as part of my team at Tenagra, and am
extremely appreciative for all the personal time he has invested in making
this forum so successful over the past year. Support of this list usually
requires several hours of attention per day, and Richard has been tireless
in keeping it all going over the past year.
Finally, I would like to convey my thanks to the all the members of the
list that have contributed to the discussion over the past year, because
without you the list would be simply not exist. When someone takes the
time to compose a contribution that benefits their fellow list members, it
is time that they are taking away from directly supporting their business
and clients, and we at Tenagra and your fellow list members recognize that
contribution and appreciate it.
As always, Richard and I welcome feedback on ways we can further improve
the value of the list to subscribers.
Best,
--Cliff
Clifford R. Kurtzman, Ph.D.
President and CEO
The Tenagra Corporation
http://www.tenagra.com/
281/480-6300
Internet marketing, public relations, consulting and web design
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