Online advertising seems to be raising the bar for how other forms of advertising work. In essence, online advertising such as PPC Search Marketing offers a number of advantages over more conventioanl forms of advertising. As a result, online advertising has spurred some fascinating new trends in how marketers reach their target demographics.

Conventional ads do not offer any way to determine (1) how many people saw them, (2) how many people remembered them, and (3) how many people acted on them. With detailed analytics, however, PPC ads are not only easier to measure for exposure, but they are much easier to place for effectiveness. The Wall Street Journal reports:

For decades, advertisers have decided where to buy space or time in part based on what they call "boxcar" numbers -- newspaper and magazine circulations and TV ratings. The trouble is that these figures tell Madison Avenue only the number of people who might have seen an ad, and do nothing to reveal whether any did see it -- and, if they did, whether they remembered anything about it or acted on it.

[...]interactive media such as the Web offer advertisers data that track who saw their ads and how they responded. When it comes to traditional media, though, marketers are still looking for better data.

Furthermore, because online advertising such as PPC is so much easier to target and track, it has inspired a new approach to ad placement. Essentially, the internet is allowing advertisers to target specific niche audiences right where they are paying the most attention. The Wall Street Journal explains:

Advertisers have long put their ads on selected Web sites [...] Increasingly, they are digging a little deeper, seeking out well-known writers, bloggers and other authoritative personalities. For example, International Business Machines Corp. last year sponsored a series of interviews hosted by Geoffrey Colvin, a writer for Time Warner's Fortune. The interviews -- with high-ranking corporate executives -- appeared in print and online, and IBM ads were seen adjacent to the content.

Indeed, this is just another example of the potential of online advertising. With PPC advertising, not only is it easier to determine how many people saw and reacted to your ad campaign, but it is easier to makes sure that they are the right people.

Via DesignSessions.