CREATION: A sneak peek at the future of the 'Net

<p>Banner ads that are designed to drive traffic to sites are to </p><p>account for less than half of total online spending in the next three </p><p>years, according to International and Media Worldwide, Modem Media </p><p>president John Nardone. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Speaking at the IAA/MEDIA Summit in Hong Kong, Mr Nardone presented his </p><p>top 10 predictions for the Internet in the next three years. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He said the majority of online ad spending would come from "rich media, </p><p>interstitials, sponsorships, integrated content and service at the point </p><p>of delivery" as markets and clients demanded more thought, insight and </p><p>creativity from agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Nardone also predicted an end to the ongoing debate between the </p><p>Internet as a branding or direct response medium. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"There will be wide recognition of a new model: That the Internet is one </p><p>of the most important drivers of brands by delivering valuable services </p><p>and user experiences as the 'proof points' for the underlying brand </p><p>promises. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Few companies will manage to emulate Cisco and create a huge competitive </p><p>advantage by using the Internet as a unified enterprise business </p><p>platform, Mr Nardone said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"They will manage all digital channels as one coordinated eco-system for </p><p>acquiring and managing customers, including corporate homepages, </p><p>intranets, extranets, email, sponsorship and wireless. The other 85 per </p><p>cent of companies will continue to use these channels separately and </p><p>realise only 50 per cent of their possible return for their efforts," he </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While Mr Nardone said he expected wireless applications to thrive, he </p><p>forecast a grim future for wireless advertising, referring to its </p><p>expected return as "insignificant". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For all its hype, Mr Nardone also shot down interactive TV because he </p><p>did not believe the industry would see "any meaningful or widely </p><p>available interactivity on TV" in the next three years. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He added that aggregated "personal portals" would emerge as the most </p><p>powerful trend online and would force marketers into collaborative value </p><p>exchange relationships with customers, adding, "marketers who fail in </p><p>this regard will be disintermediated from their customers". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Contrary to the general negative market forecasts for </p><p>business-to-consumer (B2C) companies, Mr Nardone said he expected many </p><p>B2C companies to succeed on two premises. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"That they deliver services that consumers truly want and need, and that </p><p>they market those services through disciplined targetted efforts, with </p><p>heavy emphasis on digital media channels." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, online business-to-business (B2B) was expected to emerge as </p><p>a whole new discipline, separate from exchanges or supply chain </p><p>linkages. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In addition, according to Mr Nardone, it will be online trade journals </p><p>that will "become syndicators of content, providing the environments </p><p>that will enable even the smallest companies to manage customer </p><p>relationships and maximise returns". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For companies neglecting to incorporate technology and the Web, he said </p><p>their fate would be sealed, as "every major company will have a standing </p><p>e-committee, dedicated e-organisation or have an otherwise coordinated </p><p>effort to transform the enterprise ... or will be on their way to being </p><p>out of business." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>