The Fuzzy Middle

Scott Karp is a pretty smart dude. I've been consistently satisfied with his analysis of the  changes that are happening all over the world of media. His post, The Fuzzy Middle Between Branding and Direct Response hits home. I've been "that guy" at the client, pissing and moaning about the agency who thinks in binary terms, between DR and branding. I'm that jackass that says, "why can't it be both and then some?" So, i'm stuck in his "fuzzy middle".

There's no easy way to a) define it and b) buy it. I for one, am glad that Google bought DoubleClick. Let's bring the relative transparency and trackability of search to the "old school" world of banner advertising. Let's  get going on that marketplace for banners, like we have for search.

Another good analysis from ZDNet, which brings up the vision of a true advertising Dashboard, finally brought to you by Google.