U$50 billion global online market predicted

Today's media agency must embrace digital, not only by having an online presence but by using it in a way that allows them to resonate with the consumer, he said.

With worldwide online ad revenue expected to reach U$50 billion within the next five years and the consumption of digital media growing at an unprecedented rate, Brien gave four key pointers for those hoping to harness the ever-changing media universe:

1. Be in the business of "big ideas" and exceptional experience;
   
2. Be in the business of communication and conversation;
   
3. Innovate and integrate;
   
4. Curiosity takes courage.
   

Online banner not enough

“Brien's opening address is very much in line with Universal McCann South Africa's strategic positioning of ‘Next Thing Now',” comments Nazeer Suliman, GM of Universal McCann South Africa. “Having an online banner is no longer enough – brands have to create more meaningful connections with consumers.”

In the SA context, only approximately 4.5 million people are online – a sliver of the country's population. While this may be true, those who are online fall into high income groups with disposable income to spend and much future growth anticipated from LSM 6 – 8. This is a market who banks, holidays, updates phones, buys cars every few years and can afford luxury brands. Clearly a lucrative cash cow, if you can communicate with it.

As Universal McCann discovered when planning an online campaign to promote Telkom's Do Broadband, different income groups use the Internet for different reasons. The time-starved consumer at the top of the food chain uses the Internet for the convenience it offers – for business transactions, banking, online trading, flights and other bookings. Down the chain, the user in LSM 6 with Internet access uses this as a tool for upliftment – employment, education, betting and Lotto.

Captured attention

A local Universal McCann example of an online campaign that captured the audience's attention was the “Motokini” campaign for Motorola that won an AMASA Gold in the 2006 Roger Garlick Awards.

The team at Universal tapped into every man's fantasy through its online sponsorship of the Sports Illustrated Swimwear site promoting Motorola's V3 RAZR. The sponsorship included webcams into the models' bedrooms and bathrooms (with their permission) in the Seychelles, delivering an incredible 280% more traffic to the website. Users could download 80 models and design a ‘Motokini' of their dreams.

As Brien noted, many of the new challenges facing brands and agencies in the digital era require a radical shift in focus from an "old media" mentality and legacy relationships to a new way of approaching the consumer through participation, collaboration and engagement. “Media used to be all about the ad and the message, where now it's about context, timing and involvement – in other words on the terms of the consumer,” adds Suliman.