According to the latest statistics of the polling institute ‘Forschungsgruppe Wahlen’, two thirds of all Germans access the World Wide Web regularly. And this already large number continues to rise. For many users, the Internet is the first address when looking for information on products and purchasing goods. As a result, the web is continuously gaining importance as a channel for advertising and marketing, too.

Companies are well aware of the sales potential of the Internet. They use banners, pop-up windows, short films, and sponsored websites to draw attention to their products or services. Online advertising allows companies to address their target groups directly. In addition, the Internet offers strategic advantages on an international level. To cut a long story short: advertising on the web is booming.

According to experts, the online advertising market is supposed to continue growing – despite the economic crisis. The German Federal Association for Digital Industry Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW) predicts a turnover increase of 10 per cent. This would mean that the annual gross advertising volume of the online market would be approaching four billion euros. While the budgets of other media channels are at a standstill or even decreasing, they continue to rise in the online area: already last year, Internet advertising constituted 14.8 per cent of the entire advertising market. Within four years its share has increased by 10 per cent compared to the traditional media of sales promotion.

Getting away from mass communication and focusing on customized measures: this is the general trend in the industry. One of the Internet’s advantages is that scattering loss can be reduced to a minimum. By collecting and processing personal data, advertisers are able to supply recipients with tailor-made and personalized information. Advertising on the Internet is more target-oriented, which in turn generates maximised response and click rates.

However, there is still a lot of untapped potential on the web. Thanks to user-friendly software solutions, the Internet is increasingly becoming a ‘hands-on web’ also known by the name of Web 2.0. Content is no longer created and distributed centrally by major media companies. Instead, users – who used to be mere consumers before – can write their own contributions. In social utilities, ‘netizens’ are increasingly leading a public life.

This is generally the point where many companies miss out on their possibilities. They consider individualized advertising measures on Web 2.0 an addition to conventional online marketing. For this reason, individualized advertising still lags behind in the hands-on web in comparison to the turnover level of unspecified advertising. Marketing opportunities offered by Web 2.0 are not exploited to the full either. According to the information service ‘Electronic Commerce Info Net’ (ECIN) only every third marketing expert turns to business networks such as ‘Xing’ to establish new business contacts.

The field of online marketing offers many business opportunities, though: the majority of German Internet users attach lots of importance to advertisement on the web. 57 per cent of those polled consider online advertising more efficient than television commercials or print adverts (‘Deloitte’ study, January 2009). In contrast to other nations, Germans approve of marketing measures on the Internet. Especially when adverts offer additional value or are carefully tailored to meet the recipients’ interests, they are well received. It is obvious: clever online marketing has a huge potential – and due to the continuously growing number of Internet users, companies can yield substantial competitive advantages in this field.

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