Search, Video, Web 2.0 top online ad trends

In an article featured in BtoB magazine, "Companies recognize power of online advertising spending", it highlights the online buzz around MySpace, YouTube, video banner ads, etc. that marketers are chasing. And why not? It's new, it's fun, it's glamorous.

I spent a number of years as a brand manager for an dot com where online was where a majority of our spend was allocated. Although the article focuses on paid advertising and the billions being spent, a majority of my readers don't have multi-million dollar budgets.

In the old days (in online terms that means the 90's), marketers would build buzz about their product/service by going to chat rooms and posting on forums. Today advertisers are setting up Myspace profiles and YouTube accounts - for free.

I recently got into a discussion with my good friend who happens to be a lawyer. He was thinking about posting fun video clips on YouTube to draw attention to his business. While we talked for nearly an hour about viral marketing and Web 2.0 (and my uttering the words "target marketing"), I think it's a great example of how today's online medium allows a opportunity for those who know how to take advantage of it.