The new way to advertise may not be the most effective way.

 When it comes to the advertising business...business is good and looking to get gooder!

For years TV has won big and is expected to continue to win for a few more years, but the tide is turning to digital.

You see by 2018 Digital is expected to be the #1 form of advertising in America. I received an e-mail today about a press release from BIA/Kelsey who states; Online spending is growing on ads viewed through desktops, but general online ad unit pricing faces headwinds as the attention of audiences and advertisers alike drifts more towards mobile,” said Mark Fratrik, SVP and chief economist, BIA/Kelsey. “Online will gain just a few points of local advertising market share, as mobile nearly triples its share.”

It's all about the phone! 

The general thinking is someone is online and they search for new cars or mattresses or whatever then it's safe to believe they are about to make a purchase in searched category. At that point their inbox and sides of their social media pages are filled with ads for those products. It's obviously very appealing to a business owner to put their ad in front of someone who is looking for their product at the moment they are searching for it. BUT....

Be warned. You are suddenly in a battle that may have no winners. Recently I was searching for a watch to buy. I noticed the ads suddenly on every site I went to. Admittedly the first day or so some caught my attention. However by day 2 I had blocked them all out. I actually had bought a watch by then and for weeks everything being shot at me was attempting to influence a decision that had already passed. On top of that due to the avalanche I subconsciously blocked all ads out. It wasn't until some ads popped up for new swimming pools that I noticed ads again. I had searched for pool prices to show a friend how it would be more cost efficient to go visit a 5 star hotel the 8 times a year his family actually wanted to use a pool than to buy 1. So I wasn't in the market for a pool. But money was spent to influence that non decision. 

Clearly Digital advertising will get better with time. But don't write off Radio and Outdoor. They are under used and quite honestly under valued mediums. The power to influence people towards a product happens there. In reading or listening it's a solitary activity. There may be other people with you but if you're involved in a conversation you're not paying attention to the billboards or radio. If you're paying attention I can influence you on products you currently have no interest in.

 You are a pool dealer well put up billboards showing that instant access to family-fun is priceless. Run radio ads where I hear grown people reminiscing about the impact their family pool had on them as kids and how much they love their parents for sacrificing to get one. Once you have me thinking about this incredible product that will have my kids gushing about me for decades to come, you slide in your info. If the idea of advertising is to influence buying decisions that's one of the most powerful ways to do it.