Source : Vancouver Province

Advertisers will find a way to communicate directly with consumers using the Internet if traditional broadcasters don't adapt to the challenge of new technologies, a digital marketing executive warned yesterday.

Speaking at the annual Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention, Ted Boyd said media firms are being challenged as never before because of the rise of the broadband Internet and related wireless technologies that have created many fragmented markets.

"Advertisers are starting to get grumpy," he said.

"If we don't get our act together here in Canada or worldwide then time will pass us by. They will go directly to the consumer because the Internet will allow that."

The mind-boggling purchase of 18-month-old video-sharing site YouTube for $1.65 billion US by Google Inc. was interpreted by some observers as another example of traditional media being outmanoeuvred by a smaller, nimbler, more innovative firm, but Boyd said there is another side to YouTube's amazing popularity -- 100 million video views daily.

"The sandbox that YouTube plays in is a social network that has proliferated very quickly, but had Google not bought them it would have collapsed under its own bandwidth bills," he said.

"Secondarily, the [copyright] issues that Google has purchased with it are absolutely insane. Broadcasters -- radio or TV -- have a huge advantage in that they understand how to get the rights clear and how to bring advertisers into a relationship with consumers."

Maria Hale, vice-president content business development for CHUM television, said broadcasters must remain focused on their core business and look for new opportunities outside that.

Hale said there is no easy answer to who will come out on top in the digital-broadcast marketplace.

"It really depends on the audience," she said.

"People think watching NHL highlights on their phone is ridiculous, but it's working. You really have to use the technology in the way it's best used. You tailor your product to that medium."

© Vancouver Province