While there is a clear digital shift in the ways audiences consume media, content creators and advertisers still haven’t been able to truly tap into its potential.
A wide-ranging panel discussion on online content at Digital Day aimed to address that challenge with the help of Facebook Canada’s senior sales director Alfredo Tan, AOL Canada general manager, Graham Moysey and Pary Bell, Rogers Media vice-president of digital media and GM of Sportsnet digital media.
The two primary points of discussion concerned how brands and content creators can more effectively engage audiences, and digital media’s effectiveness as a mass media option.
Metrics remain the major challenge dogging the digital space, the panel agreed. Until now, the focus in online media buying has been on the almighty click instead of achieving overall brand goals.
Moysey said digital’s potential advertising impact is equal to that of traditional media, but marketers have to change how they buy it.
“Advertisers have been pre-conditioned to believe [digital] is a performance media and that’s a challenge,” said Moysey.
“If we really want to involve marketers in the digital space, we have to get beyond cost-per-click,” added Tan. “How do we create the next level of metrics? That’s the challenge.”
One advantage of digital is that it is a mass media but with a more intimate connection with the user, said Bell.
“If you have a live chat about an episode of the Bachelorette, sure you might only have a couple thousand participants, but the level in which they’re engaged is huge,” said Bell. “They’re chatting about the commercials, not even getting up to go to the bathroom.”
Another way to better engage audiences and advertisers is what Moysey called “beautifying the Internet.”
Three weeks ago at Advertising Week in New York, AOL introduced its Project Devil platform which aims to present quality content with less–but more effective–advertising.
Moysey said that since Devil’s launch, audience engagement with content is up 40% and ad engagement, including intent to purchase, has doubled.
“We’re constantly asking why there isn’t more money in this space, but so far we’ve given [advertisers] a terrible canvas to work with,” said Moysey. “We’re at a tipping point and on the edge of a significant amount of dollars coming online as the experience improves.”
Rogers’ Bell agreed: “I struggle constantly with how much we tip the user experience for the advertiser,” he said. “The best option is a perfect balance between the two. I do hope Graham [Moysey]’s predictions come true because there is a lot of clutter online that needs to be cleaned up.”
