We welcome the challenge. All we ask for is a decent fraction of the time given over to advertising in other mediums to prove their efficacy. Radio languished for years before reaching the point it's at today, when its own ad-generated profits dwarf earnings generated by sales of the very songs it plays. Television turned a profit more quickly, but only because limited broadcast spectrum and high costs of entry limited competition. Of course it doesn't.
New opportunities abound.
Internet ad design stagnated in large part because bandwidth grew so slowly. The way Forrester Research figures it, high-speed Internet connections reached only 9 percent of households last year but will be in a majority by 2004. These ads sell at a premium, and CNET hopes they will help it survive the temporary slowdown in online advertising. The format has the full faith and backing of no less than the New York Times , which will deploy large-format ads on its site. Audio and video advertising sells at a per-viewer premium in the offline world, and there's no reason to think it can't do the same online.