Blogs, feeds, and podcasts represent a potentially huge advertising market. Last month, a pricey report from PQ Media found that: "blog, podcast and RSS advertising are the fastest growing segments of the alternative media industry, as aggregate spending grew 198.4 percent to $20.4 million in 2005. Total spending on user-generated online media is expected to grow another 144.9 percent to $49.8 million in 2006."
The trouble is: How can advertisers and bloggers work together effectively and efficiently to realize that potential?
Today, Ad Age published an intriguing column by noted blogger and media analyst Jeff Jarvis, The open ad marketplace, which offers several possible solutions. (NOTE: That link points to the version of the column on Jarvis' blog Buzzmachine, since the Ad Age site requires what I think is a needlessly intrusive registration process.)
Here's what Jarvis recommends:
- Metrics: "An open-source standard for measurement that tallies not just audience and views but other key values of citizens' media."
- Easy Placement: "Open-source code for placing ads from any advertiser or network on any participating site."
- Systems of trust: "Some direct-response advertisers may be fine with their ads appearing most anywhere... But brand advertisers must protect their reputations."
- Easy buying process: "An auction system to automate negotiation of rates."
Hmmm... It seems to me that media organizations might be in a good position to help build some aspects of this kind of infrastructure, and possibly profit from it.
For instance, media organizations can -- and should -- cultivate relationships with the best and most prominent bloggers in their region, simply as a matter of following beats and knowing the local media landscape. Media organizations also have longstanding relationships with advertisers and ad agencies. So maybe media organizations could help jump-start the thorniest part of Jarvis' proposed solution, the system of trust. That is: Rather than view bloggers as competition or "noise," seek to leverage the best ones for business advantage.
Of course, Jarvis is already working on part of his proposed solution. He wrote, "Jarvis Coffin, president-CEO of BURST! Media, and I are beginning to organize a trade group for citizens' media, which could begin to set measurement standards and perform research on the medium." That will be one to watch.
