Long Term Advertising Direction is Difficult to Determine

It’s been difficult in the last couple of months to get a fix on the direction of advertising as we move toward 2009. Back in September we did an article on potential ad themes in 2009, citing such possibilities as the International Year of Astronomy and the bicentennials of both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, the inauguration of a new president and the 100^th anniversary of the NAACP.

However, the recent housing, banking and credit crisis is likely to cut back on how much money advertisers will have to spend on such milestones.

We also looked at branding through stadium names, but that process may also be getting more expensive and riskier than many advertisers can handle. The rapid rise and fall of baseball and football teams means there are no guarantees of how much TV exposure a stadium will receive and most CEOs don’t want to be associated with a loser.

Negative and Comparative Advertising

We found that the 2008 federal elections represented advertising's best and worst of times. They reminded us of the risks in negative advertising just as some companies were beginning to get deeper into comparative advertising in the commercial field. That prompted us in October to examine the frustrations involved in controlling false advertising before it does irreparable damage.

A team of California scientists recently gave us the best look yet at the power and reach of spam advertising and Pizza Hut demonstrated its faith in the potential of online, mobile and social media. Other fast food retailers watched that experiment from the sidelines.

Short or Long Term Direction

But then we began to see some definitive, albeit discouraging, direction as radio and billboard advertising joined the scary declines in newspaper, television and magazine advertising. Even Internet advertising began to show some signs of weakness, although nothing like the other media.

The question: How long-term is this direction?