Let me describe a recent encounter, which will help explain where I'm coming from. At the WebbyConnect conference two weeks ago, I spoke with the online marketing manager of a large American outdoor products manufacturer, and several staff from the company's ad agency over dinner. I won't reveal their names or the names of their firms -- this was a casual setting and I did not indicate that I would be writing about them. However, I believe their experience helps illustrate a potential roadblock in the transition to local online advertising.

By many measures, the company is doing extremely well. It's an old, closely-held firm that not only turns a profit every year, but also has greatly expanded its American workforce. The products are selling well through a network of local retailers, including Home Depot. The company has a well-trafficked website that customers often use to research specific products, and print out spec sheets. There is also an online club for a small group of its most loyal customers, who want to connect with the company through the site and e-newsletters.

What about online advertising? When I asked this question, the marketing manager had to admit that there was very little. It's not that she and the agency didn't want to try an online campaign, it's that the CEO and other senior executives -- the ones that hold the purse strings -- didn't see the value.

These are men in their 60s. Older boomers, and maybe even a few guys from the Mad Men generation. They have grown up with print, radio, and television, and have built a successful business using traditional advertising print and broadcast campaigns on the local, regional, and national level. Print and broadcast advertising is where their comfort zone is.

They don't spend lots of hours online, and don't appreciate how Web advertising might improve their image or sales. The online loyalty club has been a success, but there's some question over how many new customers the firm could attract an online ad campaign. The marketing manager pointed out that the demographic profile of likely customers falls squarely in boomer territory -- people in their mid-40s, up to the mid-60s. While this group uses the Web, they also are more likely than younger generations to subscribe to newspapers and watch broadcast television.