A recent ANA/Forrester study reveals that marketers’ confidence in the effectiveness of television advertising is waning. Moreover, their interest in other ad formats is increasing and various online advertising opportunities look to be the beneficiaries of the shift. To quote, ” Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they intend to spend more on Web advertising this year.”

Much of this shift in marketing attention is related to growth of DVR usage in homes as well as the rise of VOD and rightly it should be. These technologies place the user firmly in control of their entertainment experiences. Traditional television advertising formats like the 30 or 60 second spot which treat the audience as prisoners of the medium simply do not have the power they once did. And while we don’t expect these formats to vanish altogether any time soon, it is reassuring to recognize that the marketing community realizes their diminished value.

All of this certainly bodes well for the growth of online video and new media in general. Growing interest in new advertising formats and opportunities by marketers including branded entertainment and advertising in online video is great news for new media pioneers. The dollars migrating in the form of marketing messages to various new media formats is just the kind of medium needed for sustained growth. I think this means the tide is finally turning.

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