Media economy
Rising doubts over eBay media market
By Diego Vasquez
Apr 19, 2007, 09:01

Plans to create an electronic marketplace for buying and selling media have been kicking around for years, and the latest comes from eBay, but it looks as though those behind it will have a real struggle on their hands selling the idea to media planners and buyers.

While some media people concede the system would make some aspects of their lives easier, the overwhelming sentiment is one of doubt and distrust, according to a recent Media Life poll of its readers.

It would mean giving up a lot of the face-to-face that's at the heart of negotiating media buys. And media people don't believe it could ever play a role in the complex deal-making, such as cross-media deals, that's an increasingly important part of the business.

"Just because something is technically possible doesn't mean it's the best way to achieve a goal," wrote one poll respondent.

"This electronic 'commodity' concept of eBay's may be technically feasible, but is it the most effective way to acquire media for clients? I think not. The buying and selling process is more than just a commodity exchange."

Wrote another: "Buying gross rating points by the 'bucket' makes it a commodity buy, like corn from a hopper. A pure electronic system, without a brain on both sides of the keyboard, can cause an advertiser to lose opportunities and falsely conclude that 'TV doesn't work.'"

And another: "Many deals are built on relationships and we totally lose that relationship if everything is electronic."

Media Life asked readers to rank the promise of the eBay marketplace on a scale of 1 to 10, in terms of "practicality, usefulness and interest levels at your agency," with 1 being the lowest.

Almost a quarter, 24 percent, gave it a 1, and nearly two thirds, 63.6 percent, ranked it between a 1 and a 5. Just 4.2 percent gave it a 10, the highest mark.

The biggest plus of such a system, buyers believe, would be in "eliminating the drawn-out back-and-forth that too often muddies the buying process." Nearly half, 47.3 percent, agreed on that.

Next, at 39.8 percent, was increased efficiency. They agreed with the statement: "You know where you stand immediately and you’re not wasting time worrying about things you can’t control on the sell side."

The biggest shortcoming of an electronic system? "The lack of opportunity for multi-platform deals. These days that’s a deal-breaker" was the choice of 36.2 percent of respondents.

But another impediment would simply be tradition, in the view of 29.8 percent of respondents.

They agreed with the statement: "Many people in this business enjoy the old way of doing things, and not because it’s more efficient but because that’s how it’s always been done."

Asked if they would use such a system, just 19.4 percent said yes.

Twice that number said no, with 33.7 percent saying they preferred to continue doing business face to face and 9.2 percent saying they found the idea intriguing but that their clients didn't seem interested.

The largest share, 37.8 percent, were not sure, agreeing with the statement: "I will probably wait to see how it works for others first."

But certainly the most critical question asked of readers was how long it would take for an electronic buying system to become accepted in the media community.

Nearly a quarter, 24.7 percent, said never, agreeing with the statement: "This is a nice idea but not feasible. It will fade away after a year or two."

Just 9.3 percent saw it happening in less than a year, along the timetable eBay has in mind.

At least two years was the choice of 22.7 percent, three to five years got 23.7 percent, and more than five years was the choice of 19.6 percent.