What Do Advertisers Want?
Despite expert predictions, online advertising has remained relatively strong throughout the recession. According to CMR, a Taylor Nelson Sofres company, spot TV ads fell 14.7% and Sunday newspaper ads fell 10.4 percent between the fourth quarter of 2000 and the third quarter of 2001, while online advertising investment lost only 7.8%. Online advertising clearly holds promise according to respondents of a recent survey commissioned by I/PRO. The advertising professionals surveyed ranked the Internet far ahead of print, radio and television in its potential for flexibility, ease of performance measurement and speed of response. In a striking show of support for third party site measurement, nearly 90% of online advertisers agree or strongly agree that Web site visitor statistics should be validated by a third party. Those respondents who advertise on the Internet see two key areas where improvement is needed most: measurement standards and targeting. Similarly, those who choose not to a
