DCS- What did we do before we had the internet?

It’s hard to believe that digital communications haven’t always been around. The first email was sent in 1971 and if we think of how the digital world has developed today, it’s impossible to think of a time before the internet.

The internet has become such an integrated part of everyday life. It is used to keep into contact with people, to gain knowledge, to share opinions and is also now more frequently used by the advertising and marketing industry.

"The first digital advertisement in the form of a banner ad, was launched by AT&T in 1994 on Hotwired’s pages”(Doubleclick, 2005 cited in Mcstay, 2010) The digital world of advertising has since developed into many areas such as , virals, pay per click, social media and digital marketing. Mcstay, notes that it is a “maturing industry” meaning that it at this moment in time, it can keep being developed and be used as a tool in the marketing industry. Although initially there were some doubts about the use of digital advertising due to the early look of pages which consisted of solely text. Today it is “the fastest growing advertising medium, growing faster than any other advertising or marketing channel “( Mcstay, 2010)

Sherman 2008, claimed that traditional advertisers now see online advertising as “ a platform that encompasses all the media before it and stirs the pot to the boiling point with a large dose of interactivity”  ( cited in Mcsaty, 2010) A main reason why online campaigns seem to be successful is the added component that is interactivity. It makes the advertisement more interesting to the consumer and almost makes it seem as though it isn’t actually just an ad. An example of brand that is successful with online campaigns is Cadburys; last summer saw the “Spots vs Stripes” campaign hit our screens and our computers.  They had games included on their website and banner ads on Facebook, which allowed people to choose a side or play a game. This year Cadbury’s are launching a new online campaign for the Crème Egg season. According to Brand Republic 2010 Cadbury’s campaign continues the “goo on the loose” theme and will feature an online games which is called “ your country needs goo” , it will challenge players to find eggs hidden on various websites such as YouTube and Yahoo. There will also be an interactive quiz on it’s Facebook site.

Social media has proved popular with advertisers since its growth in the early 2000’s. One of the most popular forms of social media is Facebook. As a user of Facebook myself, I do have to think sometimes about what my life was actually like before Facebook. I am what some may call a Facebook addict I am on it at least once a day and also spend most of the day checking it on my Smart phone.  

Television took 13 years to reach 50 million viewers whereas, Facebook added 100 million users in just 9 months. The popularity of Facebook is unbelievable; this is why many advertisers have started to use It as a way of advertising their brand or product to their relevant target audiences. 

This clarifies that the audience is there for online advertising so why not use it. If it can allow you to effectively get your message across to your target audience then it should be a reliable media platform for your brand to use. 

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment if you have any opinions on digital advertising.

Refrences:
Mcstay, A.,2010 Digital Advertising Palgrave Macmillan:Hampshire
Brand Republic,2010 Cadbury unleashes online games return for Creme Egg season" Available from: http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletin/digitalpmbulletin/article/976423/Cadbury-unleashes-online-games-return-Creme-Egg-season/?DCMP=EMC-Media-PM-Bulletin [Accessed 6th February 2011]