The Internet is not TV or print, but is a powerful medium that's underused.

Jordan Berg brings more than eight years of visual communications and design experience to his work at Questus. He has experience in both interactive advertising and traditional design, and has completed projects for Suzuki, Wells Fargo, GE and ESPN. Berg says one of his key strengths is synthesizing research and strategy with award-winning design, a unique approach that has landed him in both Communication Arts and InStyle magazine. He sits on the Board of Directors at Bridge Sales and Marketing.

iMedia Connection: What's your biggest frustration these days?

Berg: Convincing clients that ad dollars spent online should increase. There is a major shift in perception about the importance of the online ad dollars spent in total ad budgets. I see C-level executives realizing the importance of online. They see the purchasing decision moving online away from print and TV. That’s very powerful stuff.

iMedia Connection: What's easier this year than last?

Berg: Every year we see our clients profiting from online spends. Not just ad dollars but in Web development dollars as well. That makes it easier to “push” their brands and strategies forward online.

iMedia Connection: What’s one of the most successful branding campaigns your company has executed recently, and what made it successful?

Berg: Redesigning a Web site constitutes a branding campaign. Branding campaigns should not just be about ad dollars. People forget that their Web site is the biggest and sometimes most important piece of marketing they can produce.  It’s branding, awareness, direct response, interactive, push, pull, etc.

Suzuki Cycles needed to totally revamp their online presence. Their Web site did not reflect their brand positioning. We overhauled their entire Web site, user experience, interactivity, online ads and strategy. The response has been overwhelming.

iMedia Connection: Can your company point to evidence that suggests online advertising and marketing are contributing positively to branding metrics?

Berg: Absolutely. We run pre and post satisfaction surveys on all the sites we develop ad campaigns for. A good online ad campaign usually leads to increased brand metrics.

iMedia Connection: What’s one of the most successful direct response campaigns your company has executed recently, and what made it successful?

Berg: A major credit card company launched a new ad campaign with Questus one year ago. The results have been so good that they are rolling out the campaign with a 10x ad spend. What made it successful was our unique approach to the ad mix and how we constantly test and rotate in new ad buys. If an ad buy is not working, we know instantly and can get out of the buy and into another in 24-48 hours. Speed is everything.

We also optimize the landing pages with A-B testing. For this client, we went through 10 different landing pages for just one product.  Everything from copy to layout was tested to reach the optimal landing page that returned the best results.

iMedia Connection: Are you working with search and local search for your clients? Why? And how's it going?

Berg: YES!  It’s the strongest part of the marketing mix next to affiliate marketing.

iMedia Connection: What are you telling your clients about rich media?

Berg: That it is an integral part of the mix!

iMedia Connection: How is the agency-seller relationship these days? How could it be better?

Berg: Getting better.

iMedia Connection: Are you working with your clients' non-interactive agencies? How are you perceived -- as a partner or still as an oddity?

Berg: The big agencies feel threatened. Most of the time our creative and our strategies are better suited for the client.

iMedia Connection: What's the one thing you wish clients would understand?

Berg: The Internet is not TV and it’s not print. Use the Internet for all its worth!

iMedia Connection: What's the one thing you wish publishers would understand?

Berg: We love to see innovation. Find new ways to advertise on your sites. Find new sponsorships that are not the same old thing. eBay.Toyota.com is a good example of how to think outside the box.

iMedia Connection: What remains the industry’s biggest stumbling block?

Berg: Time.

iMedia Connection: What are you reading these days?

Berg: David Ogilvy -- 'Confessions of an Advertising Man.'

iMedia Connection: And finally, tell us something we don't know yet, but that we will this year.

Berg: Movielink.com will be the next hottest thing.