Here’s a slide from Mary Meeker’s recent presentation in New York at the CM Summit
What it demonstrates is the disconnect between where people are spending their time and where advertisers are spending their money. Or, more specifically, the Internet isn’t getting its fair share of advertising dollars and perhaps its best days are still ahead of it. In fact, she headlines this section of her presentation as, “Online Advertising – May Be Entering Golden Age, Finally.”
Google has been documenting this phenomena for some time and, they too, think the ROI’s are finally moving advertisers and their agencies from the comfortable old media to the uncomfortable but very effective new media.
Most of us who have already morphed our businesses to include both traditional and digital understand the many reasons why this is taking so long. It’s hard to make money in the new low cost, high volume world of digital and many advertising agencies simply don’t have the tools or the people to make the transition.
That being noted, sooner or later you just have to go where the consumers are gathering.