NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> A Rant About Online Sales Reps
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> A Rant About Online Sales Reps
Vincent Albers (vincent_at_netfactory.nl)
Wed, 21 Oct 1998 07:46:50 -0500 (CDT)
Hi,
I just read two things of interest on which I had to comment:)
HOPE CUNNINGHAM WROTE:
<Unless the web media reps take the time to educate (i.e. provide
<information) to prospective web advertisers then they cannot
<expect to increase advertising revenue generated from their
<websites. Many media planners and buyers are not familiar
<with the methodologies for analyzing internet data or the
<techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of a website in
<relation to its cost. If they don't know a medium they
<cannot recommend it to their clients. So yes, it is your
<responsibility to be a part of the education process.
I wonder if you can consider this also to be an
organizational flaw. From what I read, and what I experience
myself, I think the issue is also that it's the
responsibility of the media planners, advertisers and buyers
to get educated. There are two ways of doing this: sit in a
classroom and get a good teacher (you have to pay for this)
or talk to a lot of people and see what they tell you
without charging something for it. It happens quite often
that people call and say that they want a webvertising
campaign in a very short term, and that's why they expect so
much input from you. That's no excuse: it is their job. I
call this the lazy bum route.
The amount of people working on the Internet is bigger then
it was two-three years ago. But the newbies I meet every day
do not seem to mind that they lack certain knowledge, nor do
I experience that they themselves strive to get this
information which will make them doing a better job. In the
end I still find myself talking about the same subjects two
years ago, and some way or the other still one the same
level. The knowledge we've grown does not really flow to
other people. Example: The media buying agency I work with
used to have one guy doing all the planning and buying on
the Internet. He left, because he more or less had reached
his top at that company. So the next guy comes in, and after
one year he still does not have the same skills like the
previous guy. Then the company decides that all the planners
should also be able to work on the Internet: it should not
be restricted to one person. So they get briefed by their
expert and have to learn on the job. Then when you work with
them, and they find out the things you've done, they ask you
to give the advice, whereas that was not what I was supposed
(or get paid for) to do in the projectteam. I admit,
experience is important, but too often these things could
have been known if they had tried harder.
This is exact the type of 'education' this job could do
without.
I also think that it is this same lack of organization is
causing a delay on the standards. If I look at the situation
in Holland: the IAB has recently started in Holland. And
they are not the only ones trying to prove their standards.
So besides the fact that different parties are 'working
together' but with different motives and from different
point of views, not everybody in every party has the same
knowledge. I've heard people stating seriously that they
don't have an Internet site because their url does not start
with www:(
Things like this can't be educated when we meet on an ad hoc
telephone conversation or meeting. The general level of
knowledge has to increase. And that has to be done by the
participants themselves.
And when new things come around then you get briefed by your
agency. They are keen to give you the latest information
(not the old 'should-have-known-stuff') so you can have a
better campaign.
Regards,
Vincent Albers
WCJ Interactive - NetFactory
Frans van Mierisstraat 121
1071 RR Amsterdam
the Netherlands
+ 31 20 - 570 6484
visit us at: http://www.netfactory.nl
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