So a majority of agency execs are now predicting that online advertising could pass traditional advertising within the next five years.  Now, I was at a traditional media agency for my entire career before coming to the interactive segment in early ‘07.  My main reason for doing so followed the same sentiments that outlines the tone of the article - I felt that traditional wasn’t doing enough to prepare for the storm. 

For years, traditional media has been looking at interactive the same way I look at dachshunds - feisty but with no realistic fear of being overpowered by one.  So what happenes when a corporate media powerhouse actually does start to feel threatened?  First they … hey, wait; you’re not even paying attention to me are you?  You’re still thinking about whether or not you’ve ever seen a feisty dachshund, huh?  Well I’m here to tell you that I’ve never met a dachshund that didn’t want to tear out my larynx, but was physically/comically limited in doing so … so trust me, they’re just waiting for their chance.

The Dachshund:  Nature’s Waddling Assassin.

Now back to my point. What happens when a corporate media powerhouse starts to feel threatened?  They go out, buy an interactive shop, install a puppet regime, and then think they can run it the same way as a traditional agency.  Unfortunately, they’re going to find that without a proper plan to their single-stream approach of buying and placing media, they will be flooded by multiple streams of constantly-evolving ways to reach the consumer. 

Yet they still give an eye roll and a pat on the head to cute little interactive.  “Here you go Online Media, take this nickel down to Woolworth’s and buy yourself a big ol’ Charleston Chew so the big boys can talk about real work stuff for a while.”  Heck, in my kool-aid drinking days I even tongue-in-cheekly referred to interactive media as a “pop craze” that was too unpolished to be a threat for years. 

However, the future is now coming faster than anyone expected and it’s just a matter of time before interactive drives the media landscape.  So maybe I’ll just hang my hat here for a while.  Well, at least until the inevitable article in 2027 that reads, “New study predicts brainchip advertising to surpass online within decade.”  That’s if the Dachshunds don’t rise against us first.