Display advertising has historically been the whipping child of digital marketing.  With declining click-thru rates, marketers have found it easier to criticize its performance than praise its value.

Marketers are now seeing new value in display….in part because marketers are looking beyond the “click” to see its real benefit.

Over the course of the past year display has seen an increase in perceived value among marketers as studies like those reported by Comscore highlight the benefits of display advertising beyond the click.  Display has been proven to not only drive more traffic to client sites because of its awareness building properties, but it has also been proven to positively impact organic search for brands.

In a recent article in e-marketer, data indicates that marketer spends are now matching spends in search marketing.  With all of this increased focus (and spending) on display, must now bring an increased focus on a smarter use of display – in terms of targeting, messaging, and analytics.  Simply spending more, and using networks to buy space in the digital landscape will not deliver to the levels that smart, sophisticated marketers can achieve.

If you feel your agency isn’t giving you the thinking, the planning, and the work on the back-end to make smarter decisions going forward, it might be time to re-think your support.  Simply “doing” isn’t going to win the day any more.  You have to operate more strategically if you want to win in the digital space.