广告业遭遇数字新世界

    对广告业的描写跟广告一样，总是充斥着陈词滥调。这种情形对于码字的人来说是幸运的，但对于当今广告人来说却是不幸的，因为这些陈词滥调正在重蹈“三杯马提尼酒午餐”的覆辙。

    计算能力的提高和商家可用个人数据的大量涌入使广告业的业务遭到重创。从广告位的买卖，到成功广告推广活动的定义，如今的广告业与十年前相比已经发生了翻天覆地的变化。

    当然，从整个经济转型的角度来考察，这种变化也是情理之中的事。全球最大的公司，比如谷歌（Google）和Facebook，都是通过向用户提供更有效的广告来获得发展。养活这些科技公司的广告主与当初那些向三口之家兜售冷冻快餐的广告主可不是一回事。

    短期内，这种变化对于梦想进军麦迪逊大道（美国广告业中心——译注）或硅谷的人来说或许是有利的，但也许就在不久的未来，广告人自己或许也会像失业的人那样，呆呆地盯着夜间的商业信息，以求另谋出路。

    调查公司eMarketer副总裁克拉克•弗雷德里克森称：“目前，广告公司数量之多令人吃惊。广告业从无到有发展到今天的原因是因为我们终于明白了消费者行为数据能用来做什么，以及如何利用这些数据创造出更出色、定位更精准、更容易被接受的广告。”

    弗雷德里克森表示，目前，向消费者销售某种商品的过程非常复杂，包含许多环节。过去，一家广告公司如果希望在电视上投放广告会与媒体采购人员合作，或者直接跟电视网合作。

    而如今，这个过程可能涉及多达10个层面，从创意团队到广告购买团队，再到数据管理团队。如今，在广告投放前、投放中，以及广告出现在消费者眼前之后都会产生大量的可用数据，我们已经有能力随时对广告进行微调，确保广告能在最恰当的时间投放广告，因此，这个过程是必要的。

    广告业的这些新变化为创业者、计算机怪才和渴望进化的广告公司创造了大量机会。弗雷德里克森说：“与以前相比，广告商与消费者之间有了更多的中间人。”

    另一方面，目前的行业整合，包括阳狮集团（Publicis Group）与宏盟集团（Omnicom）的大规模合并，意味着广告业眼下这样的好日子不会永远持续下去。

    Much like what it peddles, descriptions of the advertising business are full of clichés. Fortunately for writers -- and unfortunately for the current generation of ad people -- those clichés are going the way of the, ahem, three martini lunch.

    Increased computing power and the influx in the amount of personal data available to businesses have thrown a wrench into the advertising business. From the way ad space is bought and sold to the definition of a successful campaign, advertising today looks quite different from a decade ago.

    Of course, this change makes sense when looking at the broad shifts in the economy. Some of the biggest companies in the world, like Google (GOOG) and Facebook (FB), have grown by delivering more effective ads to users. The businesses that support these tech companies do not resemble those that were selling TV dinners to the nuclear family.

    This change may be positive in the near term for those who dream of careers on Madison Avenue (or Silicon Valley), but in the not-too-distant future, ad people may find themselves on the couch staring at late-night infomercials offering the unemployed a chance to change their lives.

    "Today, the sheer number of companies in the space is staggering," says Clark Fredricksen, vice-president at eMarketer, a research firm. "The reason that this landscape has grown from nothing is that we are finally figuring out what to do with the data that we have about consumer behavior and how to use that data to create better, more targeted, bette accepted ads."

    The current process of pitching a product to consumers is complicated and filled with many steps, Fredricksen says. In the past, an ad agency looking to place a spot on television would work with a media buyer or directly with a network.

    Now, that process can involve as many as 10 layers, ranging from the creative team, to the ad buying team, to the data management team. With all the data available before, during, and after an advertisement lands in front of a consumer's eyes, the ability to tweak ads and deliver them at just the right moment makes this process necessary.

    The new aspects of advertising have created lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs, computer geeks, and advertising agencies eager to evolve. "There are more middle men between an advertiser and a consumer than ever before," Fredricksen says.

    On the other hand, recent consolidation in the industry, including the mega-merger of Publicis Group and Omnicom (OMC), signals that this bright era in advertising will not last forever.