We must cast Net wider

The latest Interactive Advertising Bureau figures for online spend in the UK are encouraging (MW last week), but there is still a huge deficit between online ad spend (2.5 per cent) consumers’ consumption of online media by (12 per cent).

As an agency specialising in online media buying, we know that our clients are willing to invest online, and that the channel delivers a targeted and responsive audience.ÂBut not all advertisers are as confident, and without a single currency for the measurement of reach and frequency for online media, it’s difficult to persuade them to allocate any amount of budget to online campaigns.

Until a robust and trusted form of measurement exists, we can help by ensuring digital expertise is present alongside traditional planners from the outset, so they are better placed to consider online as a complementary channel and that it is delivering alongside offline elements of the campaign.

Online has proven it can deliver excellent value, but to secure a share of marketing budget in proportion to consumer media consumption, it needs to be championed by media planners and buyers alongside traditional and trusted channels.

Damian Burns

Head of digital

Zed Media

London W2