Web Advertising Trends For '08

With an economic downturn or worse, a recession looming, marketers will "likely drive more money to the Internet," which is more cost effective than other media. Some of the biggest spenders may be large multinational advertisers, few of whom have spent more than 5% to 10% of their budgets online. Merrill Lynch believes Web spending will grow 18% in 2008, while Publicis Groupe's ZenithOptimedia expects it to surpass radio this year and magazines two years later.

In '08, look for the long-awaited integration of media departments within the ad industry's largest holding companies. The lack of collaboration among agencies and marketing services firms operating under one roof is astounding, and marketers demand better. Some, like P&G, have founded their own ad groups in response to the agency holding companies' slowness. Another trend to watch for is large companies being criticized for their "green" efforts. You can be sure that those who don't live up to rising environmental friendliness standards will be singled out on blogs and in chat rooms.

Elsewhere, expect the social-networking craze to taper off a bit, as consumers realize that they don't have 5,000 real friends. As Tim Hanlon, senior vice president of Publicis' Denuo Group says, "At the end of the day, it just becomes one big cauldron of noise." He says marketers will find social networks are more valuable as a research tool than an advertising platform.

On that note...check out our post about using social media to monitor the buzz about your brand.

Read the whole story from the Wall Street Journal