Primus inter pares: how digital enables neutrality

Not many weeks have passed this year in which the debate on the issue of “media neutrality” hasn’t found its way into the trade press in some form. The concept that all media channels should be given equal merit, and that strategic thinking should begin with consumer habits and end with all channels connecting in some way, has been much discussed this year.

I’m not sure how much significance should really be placed on media neutrality as a new way of thinking – it is the approach most good media planners are taking anyway. However, no matter what you think, media neutrality is great news for digital media, as it opens the door for a wider audience to realise the growing importance of interactive media as part of their marketing repertoire.

The facts are as follows. Over half the country now has internet access at home. Unmetered Web access is on the rise as people spend longer online and more than 1 million homes now have broadband, with 20,000-plus new connections a week. The Web is now the third most-used medium, behind TV and radio. About 7 million homes have access to Sky’s digital TV product and with ITV’s launch of iTV advertising imminent, the ability to make tangible connections to consumers using digital technology is a high-volume opportunity.

The days of testing interactive media just for the sake of testing it must surely be behind us. There are too many case studies across a multitude of sectors for digital to be ignored when planning 12 months ahead, unless a brand is aiming to reach the under-fives or the over-80s.

If ever there was a medium that could provide connections with messages carried by other media, it is surely online. Just look at the spike in search-engine enquiries for a brand after a TV ad has been aired – providing the brand owner has ensured it features on those search engines, of course. In this instance, a TV commercial is used to create mass awareness of the brand but it is the digital medium that enables a virtual contact.

This has been a big year for digital media. As other channels have seen relative drops in spending, the use of digital media increased significantly and the quality of campaigns has improved greatly – both in isolation of and when integrated with offline media.

It has been pointed out that online has had a relatively dull year, compared to the “dot-bomb” days of 1999 and 2000. Ironically, this is good news for a medium which is at last coming of age.

I began by suggesting that media neutrality has been just over-discussed this year. But however much importance you place on neutrality, you can be sure that digital media will continue to grow in significance in 2003.

Dan Clays is digital media director at Quantum