Marc Barach is chief marketing officer at Ingenio Inc., a pay-per-call advertising firm in Palo Alto, CA. Here are his thoughts on the state of interactive advertising and marketing, including search.
“This year, we’re seeing more energy and excitement around online advertising than ever before. There is an increasing focus on using the Web as an entry point to access all kinds of ad media – from print to TV to radio.
“This month marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of Ingenio’s pay per call network, which is anchored by AOL. Since then, pay per call has officially gone mainstream. Many thousands of businesses are using it, and a whole new industry has sprung up around it. Major players are now involved, and by the end of the year, all will be engaged in one way or another.
“For Ingenio, it’s all about more: More advertisers, more distribution partners, more service enhancements. We’ll also be focusing on expanding beyond traditional Web search to other offline media channels, where consumers are also in a commercial search mode.
“For the search industry, 2006 is the year the click fraud issue must be comprehensively addressed. We’ll also see the pay-for-performance marketing concept broaden and reach beyond the confines of Web search. We’ll start to notice consolidation in the search engine marketing segment. Web 2.0 advertising services mash-ups will emerge as well.
“Ad:tech still remains the place to meet and interact with just about everyone is the business. It’s the most efficient way to stay plugged in to this industry. Companies who innovate in their niche and push the ball forward are the ones who stand out. A big exhibit is good, a big idea, better.”
