When the Seattle Post-Intelligencer announced last month that it was stopping publication of its print version of the paper (after 146 years of publishing), and opting to move instead to a web-only format, it came as little surprise. The steady demise of print publications has been reported time and again, as has the news that the industry’s future business model is now focused on online content and online ad revenue. They know advertisers are going where the readers are, and in a Web 2.0 world, that means online.

But just moving an ad campaign from print to online isn’t going to automatically bring the revenue fairies. Overall advertisers are seeing the most results from interactive campaigns that use both sight & sound with engaging, targeted messages. Companies no longer have to rely on one-dimensional campaigns. All they need is to show transparency and personality, and they can win the hearts of just about any online surfer.

For those who question the power of the Internet, does the name Susan Boyle ring a bell? Ten days ago the name meant nothing, but today her name has garnered more than 33 million hits on YouTube. The 47-year-old contestant on Britain’s Got Talent, has nary a care about her fashion-lacking, frumpy, plain-Jane appearance. Yet, she will likely become a huge star, thanks by-and-large to the power of the Internet and her unadulterated emotional performance.

The good news is that Boyle’s online success can easily be translated into to any other online marketing campaign. Advertisers who take advantage of online’s multi-dimensional capabilities, and utilize the simple fundamentals of emotion -- humor, fear, surprise and joy –- to engage customers and prospects alike, will far surpass those relying on ink and paper. Show personality, connect with users and demonstrate, as Simon Cowell likes to say, “the likability factor.”