Online display ads are dead! So is direct mail! Catalogs, prints ads, television commercials, too! If the trend continues, soon only search and social media will be left. But wait, didn’t someone recently declare search is waning?

At True North we treat these death declarations suspiciously, especially when our experience proves otherwise. So-called “dying” channels can in fact be vital—providing the programs are built with an intuitive knowledge of the audience, the media in their lives and a value proposition that has emotional, motivational appeal. (Some call that “strategy.”)

So while pundits are writing about the death of various advertising channels, we’re proving their worth with in-market testing verified by solid measurement and positive ROI.

Take, for example, online display advertising. In 2010, not one, not two, but three True North clients tested and rolled out campaigns using online display as the primary messenger. As we put the results under a microscope to see what worked and why, we identified two process differentiators:

1. The True North optimization control room was constantly on the prowl, pulling the right lever at the right time. Even though the promise of automation has opened up a world of possibilities, every online display program still needs human oversight and judgment. And human thinking that’s not afraid to test risky ideas, as long as you plan to minimize the risk. Because we sometimes find risk pays off.
2. Media and creative worked hand in hand—planning, building and optimizing. This provided utter flexibility and fluidity when it came to reacting, with virtually no missed opportunities. What often results is multiple controls and multi-layer programs.

Based on these tests, can we now boast with pundit-like pomposity that online advertising is alive and kicking? Well, no.

What we can say is that it’s not the medium. And that’s our message.