Hello World of Online Advertising and Information Systems

A popular quote attributed to the nineteenth century retailer, John Wanamaker, is “Half my advertising is wasted; I just don't know which half." In a century and a half not much as changed. It’s a familiar problem for advertisers to this day. How do you accurately account for your advertising? First, what metrics are meaningful? Second, how do you accurately measure those metrics?

It’s easy to dismiss Wanamaker’s dilemma as dated. After all, today, thanks to modern technology, advertisers have access to more data than they know what to do with. That’s the problem. We live in a “data-driven” world. We buzz about “big data” and “data mining”. We’re inundated with “data” and nowhere is that truer than online. But we often loose sight of the fact that data on its own is nothing more than a liability until it’s transformed into meaningful information. The function of an information system is to perform that transformation. In the case of advertising, information systems tell us which headlines generate the most interest, lead to the most sales per dollar of ad expenditure, and attract the customers with the highest lifetime value. Information systems can even automatically adjust ad campaigns in response to certain data. But the question remains; how do you accurately account for your advertising?

The purpose of this blog is to explore the connection between information and online advertising in order to gain meaningful insight into how online advertising can be made more accountable and ultimately more profitable. Along the way we hope to shine a light on the frontier of possibility in online advertising as well. For better or worse, we live at a time when the average business owner has unlimited access to data. However, this data can only be transformed into a valuable asset when gathered in the context of a well-defined value oriented strategy.

This process must be practical. In this modern technology driven era, there is no shortage of bright minds who can find a vast array of uses for this data. A large corporation may use online advertising as part of a much larger marketing mix. A new small business may use online advertising as its primary marketing channel. Therefore, this blog ultimately aims to explore the role of information systems in online advertising in a way that is actionable for its readers-aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners.

We hope this blog can serve as a forum where you, the reader, can discover information about online advertising that pertains to your needs and interests. Are you interested in learning more about a specific online advertising platform such as Google Adwords, Google Maps, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter? Or would you rather learn more about the various third-party software tools that help coordinate a dynamic online advertising campaign? Or perhaps you’d just like an answer to your single biggest online advertising question. Let us know what you’d like us to cover in more depth in the comments below. We look forward to seeing what’s on your mind.