One for the Road

I heard today that advertisers are frustrated because reach and frequency aren't very good indicators of online customer behavior as they are for tv and real world ads.

Online advertisement is more about the extent to which your ad is integrated into the behavior or context of what the user is doing online (which is why search advertising is so effective). The logical extension of this is that providing valuable content is the absolute best way to integrate your ad into the behavior or context of your user.

If you are the context, then trying to match what the user is looking for becomes irrelevant - they're looking for you! Similarly, if you're providing the tool that the customer is using, you are facilitating their behavior.

Brand integration is a good trend in television - a good way to combat general fatigue over the 30 sec. ad. But online, it's more than a good trend. It's absolutely essential.