Good news for all us online marketers this week. Article after article expounding upon the growth in alternative media, despite an economic downturn, including one from AdAge that stated:
“Spending on alternative media hit $73.4 billion in 2007, a 22% increase over the previous year, and will continue to grow, according to a study from research firm PQ Media, which also predicts that by 2012 alternative media will represent 26.6% of all advertising and marketing dollars.”
Nice outlook, huh? Surprising? Hardly. Consumers are increasingly spending time online, and thus marketers are naturally following. And with an economic slowdown underway, marketers will spend in the channels in which results are measurable and performance based. (Duh.)
What is surprising, and somewhat irksome, however, is that online continues to be lumped into the “alternative” media bucket (also known as “new” media to some). Online is not new. It is not experimental. And it certainly isn’t alternative. It’s about as mainstream as it gets. The vast majority of U.S. adults today use the Internet regularly, and the demographics of Internet users are right in line with the overall population.
So what gives? Why do we continue to call online “alternative” media? It seems awfully dated. Just ask any kid today—if you can pull them away from texting their BFF long enough. It’s media, and as such, deserves the proper respect.
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