Web/E-business /

What replaces the online ad?

By Sandra Gittlen
Network World E-Commerce Newsletter, 01/17/01

I got an interesting e-mail message from a firm called Xpedite the other day. It had the subject line "What will replace the online ad?"

MessageReach, the company's anchor service, acts as an e-mail outsourcer for e-commerce companies that don't have the inclination to manage their own customer e-mail interactions.

While this is just one of many companies that offer this service to its customers, I was intrigued by the subject line. What will replace the online ad? While I don't think online ads are going anywhere, I do think they are going to become more complex on the back end. They also will be a gateway for e-mail interaction with potential customers.

Right now, you click on an ad and you almost always get sent to a Web site. On that Web site, you might find only the information that you're looking for, or it might be surrounded by a gazillion other items that the company is trying to get you to see. You might be sent to a page with a contest on it, or you might be sent to sign-up sheet for something - trial subscription, free chotchke or some other enticer.

In the future, I think you'll see more instant action. Enter your e-mail address in a space within the ad and you'll be automatically registered for a trial subscription. Click on the ad, and information will be collected from your cookie/system that will automatically register you for a contest. I don't think you're going to have as many steps to get the information you want as you do now. As a result, your e-mail address and your "interest" information will be collected and used at a later date for follow-up messages.

More than enhanced online ads, I think e-mail will be your chance to snag new customers. Buying good lists and making sure that your message is incredibly targeted and riveting will be more critical than ever. E-mail is going to be your opportunity to reach people in a controlled, yet enterprising manner.

I say this because people, by habit, click on their messages. Even if I have an inkling that the message I'm about to read is probably spam, I still click on it for the off chance that it's an important note from a reader or customer. And every so often, even if the note is a form of spam, I'll bite. Also, the sheer volume of spam has desensitized me. I wish it would go away, but I'm resigned to its existence - much like the catalogs and credit card offerings that overflow my mailbox at home.

And, as I've said before, not all spam is bad. For instance, The New York Times has me on its e-mail list, since I used to be a print subscriber. They send me stuff all the time that could easily be thrown into the spam pile. But every now and then, a craftily worded message will make its way through my not-so-discriminating filter, and I'll sign up for whatever the feature of the week is.

The New York Times also is careful not to overdo it. They don't send out a ton of messages. But the messages they do send are carefully thought out and geared toward the list they are targeting. And this is the key.

So are online ads a thing of the past? Nope. But if they expect to get a real reaction, they had better follow up with an e-mail message.