is the media buyer out of date?

Because of the Internet, we live in an increasingly self-help world. It is hard for anyone to argue about this. Most of our banking business can be done online. We use online retail sites, grocery distribution sites, and make the most of our online car research resources so we don't have to go to a family to see what we want. Technology makes us more self-service, and we do well.

People should not be surprised that other industries are increasingly becoming more self-service shopping. Online advertising is one of them. Since Google launched the AdWords self-help advertising program, online advertising has been self-help for almost 9 years, and other search engines followed. Traditional self-help display ads are also being used, and advertisers are now running banner ads using self-service platforms such as Adbrite, AdRoll, and Blogads.

In fact, the choice of self-help is now everywhere. Through its numerous media partnerships, Adready has now made automated banner ads easy to access on some sites, such as nytimes.com, MSNBC and Yahoo. In May 2008, Fox Interactive Media (Fox Interactive) added self-service video ads, while in October, blog search engine Technorati through the acquisition of advertising network Adengage, also introduced a self-service advertising platform. (For a complete list of self-service advertising tools, see Hollis-Thomas Holli Thomases's column on this topic.) ）

The latest publisher to launch self-service advertising tools is Mashable, which this week unveiled the 300X250 social banner platform. The advertising service is interesting in that advertisers can incorporate social media materials maintained by social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube, as well as display updates to Twitter accounts.

For small businesses and advertisers who lack the opportunity to collaborate with interactive institutions, this self-help-style ad boom is certainly great. Given the recent strain on the resources of many clients, it is not known whether media buyers will pay attention to this trend. Will these automated advertising platforms threaten institutional planning and purchase services and replace them?

Before we ring the alarm bell, we should also remember that these services have also provided valuable experience for media buyers. Since the minimum advertising costs are low, we will be able to conduct small-scale pilot activities on a number of specialized websites and major sites before we invest more in our budget. And, when the deadline for the event is up, or when the last wave of advertising is done, we don't have time to advertise through traditional media outlets, so these quick and easy platforms are good choices and work well.

Although this form of advertising is very useful to some advertisers, many other self-service services are still unable to replace the advertising agency's media strategy team. Most self-service platforms offer limited creative advertising design capabilities, so even though advertisers can build a lot of text and display ads, they may not be in line with existing banner ads. This can be a problem for most advertisers who value the continuity of their branding and advertising activities.

The issue of services and responsibilities has also received additional attention. Automated advertising systems cannot provide advertisers with the assurance of an ad agency's group of Experts. If there is a problem with the self-service advertising campaign, the system cannot guarantee that it will be corrected. While an automated system has its advantages, it can be disconcerting to eliminate human factors when advertisers suddenly realize that he has no idea who they are asking for help. This does not seem to matter, but the seller behind the self-help advertising campaign must assume responsibility for any failure, and of course, few of the client's managers are willing to take responsibility for it.

Advertising agencies are best suited to develop impeccable media strategies and memorable advertising ideas, tailor-design for each brand, optimize it, and let customers know everything from start to finish. Because of these advantages of advertising agencies, self-service advertising platform does not reduce the importance of advertising agencies. These tools should be viewed as complementary media partners by websites, advertisers and advertising agencies.

Happily, there is a way to satisfy everyone, that is, to use both technical and traditional methods to get the best chance of success.

(Original: August 20, 2009; compilation: Zeng Cui)