I remember TV ads when I was a kid – back then they seemed funny, sophisticated and cute. Now looking back at those same advertisements I find myself laughing at how improbable it is that they would have reached enough people to have been worth the cost and effort – the difference is that times change and with them the way people need to be reached. For a while in the 80?s the radio was the biggest method of reaching the masses and disco and rock and roll was king again – then tastes and technology became to change again as cell phones and handheld computers grew in popularity and internet access, once just a textbased network created as an emergency communications system flourished in so many homes that it became as popular as cable TV and in some cases has even replaced phone service! In this day and age the biggest problem most advertisers have is finding a way to reach the right people with that carefully targeted advertisement so that it will do the most good. And that is where so many of the new advertising schemes and techniques began – first with mass email and postal blitzes which were considered effective if they had a 1% return, and then as the web grew and people became more sophisticated online banner ads and sales. The latest in this emerging trend of internet-based advertising and ecommerce is the booming and still growing affiliate or associate programs which you are certain to have heard about in one form or another.
