IT Week: As chief executive of online marketing firm ValueClick, do you think the role of the IT function in online marketing has changed in recent years?

Carl White: Yes, the role is much more important because the IT department is often leading the marketing department in its understanding, implementation and utilisation of technology. The 40-year-old marketing director who didn’t take to digital until late in his career needs all the help he or she can get, so IT can take a consultative role, which is very useful. But the extent to which IT can do this depends on the organisation. The issues are control and management and setting boundaries. It’s harder for IT to have an influence when departments are siloed, but in those companies there is perhaps an even greater need for IT to have influence. In the past five years, the knowledge and understanding of IT has increased [among marketers] but the requirements for knowledge of how technology such as web tracking systems work have also increased.

So the relationship between marketing and the IT department is getting closer...

Today there is more knowledge and understanding of how marketing and IT get the best out of each other. There are still technical issues that marketing tends not to get involved in, but IT can actually add value to the marketing department. Digital marketing is forcing IT and marketing together because marketers are being forced to understand what IT is talking about, which has to be a good thing. The clients we work best with introduce an IT element very early on in our discussions. It’s a case of involvement and advice at the early stage and then execution later on ­ that works best. Although it’s different for each company, it tends to be more about the working culture than IT versus marketing.

What are the implications for career development?

The calibre of people coming into the job is better but expectations have increased and that’s always a challenge. The breadth of knowledge required is significant and the speed people acquire that knowledge is faster. Marketing people will embrace IT because they know they can use it to do their job more effectively. Five years ago there was a clear divide between the two disciplines but now there are people with talent in both areas, and firms like advertising agencies are becoming more dependent on people who can do both.

What trends do you see emerging in the online marketing space?

In the next 12 to 18 months it will be about the ability of digital marketing companies to target users and user behaviour ­ that is prior behaviour and anticipated behaviour. Behavioural targeting is not new but it will become more sophisticated, and if you have enough reach globally across different platforms it can add great business value.

How well has the industry responded to challenges such as click fraud?

The internet advertising agencies and media networks have created a code of conduct in order to eliminate click fraud. They recognised that the IAB [Internet Advertising Bureau] may not be representing them well, so they plan to bring in a third party to track [illegal behavior]. We’re now finding the time and resources to address these issues, which is all part of the industry growing up and taking responsibility for policing itself.

How big a role does web analytics play in online marketing?

Web analytics are absolutely key but I’m not sure if they’re being fully utilised on the client side. In e-commerce, firms generally do appreciate the importance of analytics ­ the Dells of this world totally get it ­ but other clients still do their user behaviour tracking and then take six months to change the site. It’s probably more a UK issue than a US one though ­ over here it’s a case of you don’t know what you don’t know and the ad agencies don’t have the expertise to persuade their clients web analytics is a good thing to do.

Is Google having a positive or negative impact on the market?

From our perspective its move into cost per action was very positive because it helps advertisers. Google can execute on one product very well but not necessarily on others ­ it has just acquired [digital advertising solutions provider] DoubleClick and it remains to be seen what it’ll do with that. The jury’s out on whether it understands the privacy challenges. DoubleClick got into a lot of hot water a few years ago using personal information, so it is a fascinating acquisition. Generally, Google is a force for good and has made people use the internet more, but for publishers it has got a stranglehold in terms of driving natural traffic. It would be healthier if Yahoo and MSN were more serious competition. Like most large firms, Google is probably challenged more by operational rather than strategic issues.

What differentiates your firm in this highly competitive market?

From a marketing point of view, we have a lot of tracking points, for advertisers or publishers. Having a number of different ways to reach a user and monetise that content is appealing in such a complex and confusing market. Some firms’ strategy is that they see Google has bought someone and think they should do the same, but even Google doesn’t have all the boxes ticked as far as online marketing is concerned.