24/7 Real Media's Interactive Marketing Experts Reveal Their Online Advertising Predictions for 2006; Podcasting, Online Product Placements to Increase, as TV Viewership Declines

Business Wire, Nov 8, 2005

NEW YORK -- Japan Poised for Dramatic Growth in Interactive Marketing; Search Becomes the Next Lead-Gen Tool and Bolsters Its Presence on Madison Avenue

After a remarkable resurgence in 2005, the online advertising industry is now looking forward to the trends and developments likely to have the greatest impact on the industry's growth and direction in 2006. Interactive marketing experts at 24/7 Real Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: TFSM), an interactive marketing and technology pioneer, today revealed their Top 10 online advertising and interactive marketing predictions for 2006 during Ad:Tech 2005 in New York.

Among the most remarkable revelations, 24/7 Real Media's experts predict that search engine marketing, which helped boost the entire online advertising sector in 2005, will reinvent itself as a lead-generation channel while continuing to drive significant advertising revenue. Podcasting, blogging and mobile applications will become more attractive to advertisers, as behavioral targeting becomes increasingly indispensable for delivering the right content to the most receptive audience.

The 24/7 Real Media experts' Top Ten Online Advertising Predictions for 2006 include:

1. Consumer-generated media will become increasingly attractive to advertisers

2. Advertisers will continue shifting traditional ad spending to the Web due to increased Internet consumption and better targeting/reporting capabilities

3. Advertisers, cable providers and interactive marketing experts will collaborate to address "The TiVo Effect"

4. Brand advertisers will drive the next wave of growth for the paid search market

5. Best practices in localized mobile marketing will be perfected overseas in 2006

6. Online advertisers will employ holistic targeting methods to deliver better results and reduce reliance on high-profile, high-CPM ad buys

7. Technology and better data access will transform online advertising success to a formulaic equation

8. Japan will be the next frontier for paid search and interactive marketing

9. Mobile carriers will adopt new ad models to boost revenue beyond usage

10. Performance-based pricing models will demonstrate the true value of search engine marketing (SEM) as a lead generation channel

"Thus far, 2005 has been a hallmark year for the online advertising industry, led by the explosive growth of the paid search market, and richer, more interactive and creative advertising facilitated by increased broadband penetration around the globe," said David J. Moore, chairman and chief executive officer of 24/7 Real Media. "We believe the momentum of the past 12 months is likely to continue in 2006, and our experts in media, search and technology are already anticipating the key trends and developments they believe will play a significant role in shaping the continued evolution of the industry in the year ahead."

1. Consumer-generated media will become increasingly attractive to advertisers

Podcasting, blogs and 'wiki' will continue to gain momentum and attract an increasing number of consumers - both content creators and content users. All indicators point to consumer generated media becoming a promising 'ad spend' opportunity, particularly for advertisers looking to reach specific micro-communities. Interactive advertising service providers seeking to capitalize on these opportunities will need to provide scale in both global advertiser acquisition and service delivery, and in data complexity - handling hundreds of thousands of sites with millions of transient visitors. New technologies will make ad delivery easier for publishers and advertisers, including filtering unsuitable content to protect advertisers from unwanted impressions. Better blog and audio/video search tools will increase traffic and dramatically improve relevance metrics.

2. Advertisers will continue shifting traditional ad spending to the Web due to increased Internet consumption and better targeting/reporting capabilities

The Internet has replaced the TV as the most sought after medium across different demographics, and time spent online continues to grow. This trend will enable Internet advertising to steal a greater share of advertising dollars away from TV networks. To illustrate this point, Google will sell more advertising in 2005 than any of the major TV networks or newspapers. 24/7 Real Media anticipates that in 2006, Internet advertising will continue along on the same trajectory that the cable TV industry traveled during the 80s and 90s. The key differentiating factor that will continue to fuel growth of Internet advertising is its transparency, flexibility and accountability, making it the ultimate marketing tool.

3. Advertisers, cable providers and interactive marketing experts will collaborate to address "The TiVo Effect"

In the past, TV advertisers knew that 50 percent of their advertising was wasted, but were unsure which 50 percent. With the proliferation of DVRs, and the inevitable commercial-skipping "TiVo Effect," advertisers suspect the waste is increasing, but have no real way to measure. Interactive TV could be the answer that advertisers are looking for - incorporating the creative bandwidth and storytelling capabilities of television combined with the real-time delivery and tracking abilities of the Internet.