Zenith Optimedia's former CEO argues that the internet is not getting its fair share of advertising, and explained how to get traditional media to take interactive more seriously.

Michael Drexler, former CEO of Zenith Optimedia with a prestigious 47-year history in the advertising business, closed out the mainstage content at this week's iMedia Agency Summit with a keynote address arguing that "the web is fast becoming the major medium, and it's no longer that brash upstart with potential."

However, Drexler cautioned, "it may surprise you when I tell you that internet is being cheated, and you can fix it, and how." The internet, Drexler argued, "is not getting its fair share of advertising revenue, not even close," and "this is surprising for a medium that has revolutionized communication for a generation."

With newspapers losing circulation, magazines suffering from a decline in ad growth and newsstand sales, radio "getting knocked on its butt" and TV -- facing the advent of broadband -- needing to learn a whole new ballgame, Drexler believes that the internet will soon lead a revolution for traditional media.

What is driving this? Consumers. The internet generations want information now, "and they know that it's on the internet."

How agencies must change
For agencies, Drexler advised a holistic and integrated approach to media and marketing. "Our universe of major mainstream media has gotten bigger and significantly more complex, but it's still one universe, and the internet still belongs squarely at the center of that universe."

"Planners," Drexler continued, "must consider the internet alongside traditional media-- for its strength and also for its comparative value. That's what traditional advertisers want to know. How does the internet compare with other media, and what is its relative value?"

"Easy to say, and it sounds easy to do," Drexler added, "but it isn't, really."

Holistic evaluation has been one of the industry's greatest challenges because new and old don't easily mix. Most advertisers, agencies and media were not built for internet integration. "It's a hard enough thing to get creative and media integrated," Drexler observed, and the difficulties are compounded when you add in clients-- corporate giants who use different research entities and have different approaches and philosophies.

"Even now," Drexler said, "many agencies have not integrated their online and offline staffing." With separate groups for outdoor, spot TV, radio and the like, why not a separate group for internet?

The reason, Drexler said, is that "traditional agency media groups understand the media that they're planning and buying -- how to evaluate and integrate them -- but for the most part they do not yet know how to do that as effectively or comprehensively with the internet." Conversely, the online people do not always have sufficient expertise with offline media.

The challenge is how to make a cohesive entity out of offline and online.

"How, for instance, do you budget?" Drexler asked. "It's easy, for instance, to say five percent, but is five percent the right number? Unless we can look at all the evaluation criteria in an integrated format, we can't really know. The five percent solution is not a solution…. to decide beforehand how much should be allocated to the internet just makes no sense."

Why traditional advertisers don't spend more online
"Integration is an attitude. It's a way of thinking. It's not a physical location, but for the process to work it requires that all parties share the same frame of mind," Drexler said, going on to note that of the approximately five and a half percent of the $274 billion in U.S. advertising only 5.5 percent is being allocated online.

The top 50 advertisers spend less than that 5.5 percent: Procter & Gamble allocates less than one percent; General Motors less than three percent. 

"Why?" Drexler asked, answering that the reason is that, "these advertisers don't know the value of the internet when compared with other media."

A vision of the future
With communication platforms expanding and 70 percent of internet users going online outside of work, Drexler argued that the internet is both a highly personal and mass medium. "The web must be seen as a mass tool for its ability to deliver large audiences, as well as a micro niche tool."

But, Drexler continued, "the biggest difference between the internet and other mass media is that the consumer really controls it. Blogs, photos displays, social networks… the web offers every user the ability to communicate how, when and with whom they choose to communicate, and loyalty to the internet is extraordinary."

Quoting Yogi Berra, Drexler quipped, "the future will never be the same again."

"The world is integrating," he said. "Advertising must do the same." This is as true of television as it is for the rest of media.

"The big television screen will always be the place for lean-back, passive viewing, but in only a few short years television will also be a full-scale interactive medium. Advertising should, can and will play a key role in driving new media, and traditional media as well."

With new technologies putting pressure on all media channels, "advertisers," Drexler said, have "an invaluable opportunity to shape the development of all media as they change."

"To my mind," Drexler said in conclusion, "the opportunity is also a responsibility, and I encourage you to take it."

Brad Berens is the editor in chief and chief content officer for iMedia Communications. Read full bio.