Q&A with Jay Aber - one of the original founders of AIMS

As you probably know September marks the 10th Anniversary of AIMS. A few weeks ago I posted the first in a series of three interviews with the original founders of AIMS. This Q&A is with Jay Aber and is our second interview in the series.

Jay Aber has over 10 years of Canadian and international Internet marketing experience and is currently President of The Aber Group. The combination of his seven years at American Express, plus his 10 year experience as President of 24/7 Canada, one of Canada’s leading Internet advertising sales and email companies, gives him a unique perspective and understanding of the role Internet media plays in the marketing mix. Aber stepped down as President of 24/7 Canada in March 2006 concentrating his efforts on building The Aber Group. The company provides counsel to senior executives on the best ways to use the Internet to achieve their marketing and revenue goals, as well as program development and execution.

Q: Why did you, Emily, and Andrew start AIMS back in 1996?

A: It was crazy times as all of us were young, in senior decision-making positions in Internet marketing companies. I was the first General Manager of DoubleClick Canada, Emily a PointCast Canada Exec and Andrew - an Exec at digital agency Mackerel.

We all needed information and advice quickly, and since there were no precedents - we all counted on each other for learning and info. Initially, the only criterion for joining AIMS was to be a decision maker in an Internet business. It didn't matter whether yours was a one-person operation or a large corporation - the notion was that it would be extremely valuable for people who had to make decisions in this evolving space to have a peer group to turn to for advice, recommendations and answers.

Q: What are some of the key developments you've seen over the last 10 years? Any big surprises?

A: I think the biggest surprise is how quickly and completely the Internet has transformed the way people access information, work, learn, communicate and entertain themselves. Many of the "could you imagine when . . ." conversations that we had a decade ago - are now reality - ubiquitous low cost or free broadband wireless access, the true power of search, the low cost of personal and business computing equipment, transformations in the travel, telecom, banking and other businesses.

On the negative side, it is still surprising to me that Canadian business in general is still slow to adopt the Internet for marketing purposes. I’ve heard many reasons why - but given our enormous broadband coverage and early consumer Internet adoption rates – it doesn’t make much sense that so many Canadian companies are such slow adopters.

Q: What are some of the current trends or ideas that you think will have the biggest impact for online marketers in the next few years. Why are they important?

A: Marketers need to look at how younger Canadians interact with technology. For most, using a computer or any device is as simple and intuitive as using a telephone is for me. The wholesale changes in demand for traditional media have already started - but ask yourself what the likelihood is that a 10 year old today will be a subscriber to a daily newspaper as an adult.

It's not that the need for news will change, it’s that consumers demand choice when it comes to how they consume media - and only those organizations that offer up that choice will thrive. With the freedom to configure media to a user's preference, advertisers and marketers are going to have to become very proficient at using a range of communication channels to reach the target AND get used to asking permission before they send their marketing messages.