Steve Rubel reminds Web 2.0 firms of a harsh truth they may not want to face.
Nearly every online start-up you can think of is basing their business model on advertising. It’s as if your digital budgets are a bottomless pot of money with more than enough to go around for everyone. Ask any of them how they plan to stay solvent and they all fire off the “a-word” – advertising.
…the harsh reality is that there will not be enough ad dollars to go around for everyone.
While we don’t agressively pursue ad revenue at AdPulp, I believe Steve is right–there are not enough ad dollars to go around.
In our particular case, adding a back end consultancy to our front end media offering might work. We haven’t tried it yet, so I don’t kow for sure. A few years ago I thought the consulting piece would focus on conversational media. While we’re qualified to assist in that area, I have a new idea. We could provide brands with an audit of their current advertising, and suggest the various paths toward improvement.
Our daily production here would then serve as “the ad,” for our services. In other words, we showcase our thinking here for free. If a brand manager finds value here, they could then bring us on as a consultant to provide more of the same, albeit in a private and more detailed fashion specific to their needs.
