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Banner Advertising is Alive and Well

Written on
February 12th 2006
Author
by Kiran Aditham  |
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Still, in an industry where longevity is measured in dog years, Baehr’s seven-year stint at Ogilvy One seemed enormously prolonged. So in November 2004, it was time for a change. Arriving at an auspicious time when Avenue A and Razorfish just merged, Baehr quickly got to work in her newly bestowed post as senior VP. In her newest role, Baehr leads a staff of twenty media buyers/planner, coordinates online media execution for brands like Verizon, JP Morgan Chase, and Victoria’s Secret, and essentially serves as the East coast face of an outfit which OMMA Magazine has recently awarded “the #1 interactive agency of 2005.”

“We spent $418 million on behalf of our client roster, and that’s up from $312 million in 2004,” boasts Steve Stratz, media relations manager of aQuantive, AA | Razorfish’s parent company. “So we found very healthy gain there. One of the things that we’re already looking at is breaking the half-a-billion mark in 2006, which is quite a number. As for the OMMA honor, Stratz adds it “was a real testament to the agency and the quality of work that we produce.”

To ensure quality control, especially in regards to her agency’s current strategies, Baehr says that the game plan is to keeping AA | Razorfish’s media buys consistent. And at a time when technophiles are slobbering over digital marketing opportunities outside the online space, Baehr insists it’s best to proceed with caution. “I wouldn’t say that right now, there’s a huge shift in how we’re planning or buying,” she states. “I think that there is definitely opportunity there, but a little shakeup needs to happen there in terms of what is viable and what’s going to make sense for any given marketer.”

For example, Baehr cites podcasting in terms of marketing potential. “Podcasting might make sense for one advertiser, but it might not make sense for another. It’s kind of the buzz word right now, but I’m not sure that anyone is clear whether or not it really makes sense for everybody.”

As for mobile marketing, Baehr argues that the potential is there, but at this point in time, it’s not economically sound from an agency perspective. “Mobiles don’t seem to have the infrastructure, and it’s a little bit more fragmented,” she says. “The ability to reach that mass audience is a little bit harder, and the culture isn’t quite there yet to support it as well. Mobiles don’t seem to have the infrastructure to support, and it’s a little bit more fragmented. Although I think they are great opportunities for the right client and the right marketing message if we were looking for a niche opportunity to reach a certain [demographic], I wouldn’t recommend every client to go run out and start doing it just because everybody’s talking about it.”

What Baehr will champion and has championed is the banner ad, something that’s been seemingly displaced by hype surrounding new technologies and concepts like viral. At a time when rich media is benefiting from Flash 8 and broadband penetration, Baehr says the banner ad is alive and well. “People in other agencies might disagree with me, but I still see [the banner] as a huge part of what we’re buying,” she says. “I think that streaming video and audio is now a real opportunity, whereas five years ago, no one really had the bandwidth to do that. Rich media is certainly one of those options that enable us to provide a richer experience in that space, and I think that it’s still going to continue to grow.”

While her crystal ball forecast is cloudy on whether the rest of the industry will heed her words, Baehr does have an overriding philosophy that she hopes will keep Avenue A | Razorfish a step ahead. “Philosophically, we believe the website is going to be the central expression of the brand,” she says. “Eventually, we believe all media is going to be somehow digital. From that perspective, I feel pretty confident that the company’s set up to deliver that kind of future vision.”

Just as Baehr evolved with the online space during her Ogilvy days, the interactive agency has also evolved with the Web. “It is a far more mature business,” she states. “People have actual business plans and models that are built on real revenue. I think that’s a huge difference. That frenzy has somewhat dissipated, and we’re really dealing with the real business rather than fluff. It’s not just an idea; it’s built on something solid.”

And at a time when there is a desire for specialists who have the level of sophistication and savvy to plan a brand’s marketing efforts, Baerh says that regardless of a banner’s prevalence or a mobile marketing push, the key to success is simple: communication, communication, communication.

“It’s really about understanding who it is you’re trying to communicate with, what’s the best way to communicate and which channel is going to be the most effective. That doesn’t change.”

“At [Avenue A | Razorfish], that’s what our job is and that’s the art of what we do.”



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Reader Comments.

While I agree that the web is a happening place for marketing, I worry that banner ads, even those using rich media, are losing effectiveness as interruptive advertising. If people are anything like me, they have trained themselves to ignore the flashing lights and other inducements on the page and stay focused on the content. I don’t even see them anymore. I also think time pressed viewers are worried that by clicking on an ad that may take them in another direction, they may be taken off the focus that brought them to the site in the first place. As Baehr says, websites, and from our perspective website experiences, will always be the heart of the web’s value for brands.

Posted by Tony Quin | 3:54 pm on January 25, 2006.

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