What’s up with the “click”

I am starting to get frustrated with the online focus of the click. Sure, it’s something that can be measured, and gives media companies something to show how great their site/network is compared to other properties. However, when it all boils down to it, a good “click rate” doesn’t guarantee any further action down the lead/sales funnel. Yes, it helps get the lead to the next step, but an impression can too. Just at a later more convenient time when the customer has decided to come back to the site on their own terms. Just ask anyone that has used an ad server and compares view-through conversions to click-through conversions.

I can’t click on a TV ad (yet at least) or on a newspaper ad but advertisers still spend more money offline than online, at least for now. So marketing directors can handle media without a “click metric” and it appears that social media continues to gain momentum without a resounding “click metric” in it, rather tracking conversations.

So as we move down the online marketing timeline, attribution will become the word that clients, agencies and vendors will be discussing. We all know that a majority of transactions still happen offline but online marketing can have a huge impact on that sale, it’s just hard to nail down the correct attribution. That is the answer that will be worked on in the future, not what small tweak to creative can increase a CTR of .3% to .35%. So click or no-click, attribution will become the metric that gets heads spinning and dollars shifted. Sorry Mr. Click, you had a nice run but it seams like it is going to be coming to an end.

Google offering view-through in AdSense

Google announced that they are going to set cookies on sites that offer AdSense ads so that advertisers can now see if the visitor goes to the site without clicking. This is Google’s first move in the “ad server” space and hopefully many more will come. The tool also allows advertisers to cap how many times the ad is viewed by a vistor.

I would like to see them offer this service for PPC ads as well to provide some more data about search as a branding tool. It would also be nice for them to open an ad server that is free, which isn’t too far out of the realm since it seems like Google is willing to give free tools away in return for data. What better way to get costs, CTR’s, dayparting, and geotargeting data from advertisers and publishers than offer a free ad server.

That may be the next step, knowing Google they are most likely way ahead of that.

Youtube to allow publishers to sell ads

All the news in the online world is revolving around the new iPhone announcement, but Youtube has some interesting news as well. The giant in the video space has had a hard time monetizing their site and content, and now are looking to publishers to help solve the problem. They are letting professional publishers who have a Youtube channel sell ads on their channel and share the revenue with Youtube.

This is a good step for advertisers, as they can buy advertising on certain channels, but is not the golden ticket to monetizing video that Google thought they could figure out when they purchased Youtube.

Anyways, back to the iPhone craze.

Banner creative: Be careful

Dunkin’ Donuts decided to pull a recent display ad as there were several complaints about Rachel Ray’s black and white scarf. Complaints stated that it was a religious symbol supporting terrorism and Muslim extremism. Dunkin’ Donuts pulled the ad stating “the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee.”

One must be careful when we design creative units as this is a great example. A simple scarf in an ad, turns into a large debate over racism and terrorism. It’s no longer symbols and colors, as simple clothing accessories can cause quite a stir in the media world.

Google opens Ad network to third party tags

Google announced Monday that it is opening its ad network to certified third parties. This will allow advertisers to run their campaigns more effectively through the AdWords channel and use third party tracking and technology. Google has done a good job of monetizing its network thus far, but by opening it up to approved third parties, there is more money to be grabbed. By allowing specialists such as rich media companies Eyewonder and Point Roll and Ad serving companies Mediaplex and Doubleclick, there will be more revenue generated for these parties to share.

The approved partners thus far are:

• Pointroll
• Eyewonder
• Eyeblaster
• Interpolls
• Doubleclick Rich Media
• Mediaplex
• Doubleclick

Note the omission of Atlas, Microsoft left out.

 

Importance of ad staging platform

Many clients and agency folks sit down and discuss an online display campaign and how it can be so great. Great creative, great results, and great brand awareness all at the same time. However, these are usually the same partnerships that don’t see great results. Why, because they think like offline creative and story board the display unit rather than building one out and placing it in a “live” environment.

The web is a different beast than the radio and TV. Yes, I know you can change channels or surf through over 100 channels of crap, but that requires effort. Offline has content, content, ads, content….

The web is content the way you want it. It’s easy to scroll down past an ad unit, click back avoiding seeing an ad unit, going to another page through a direct search, clicking a link…..so the creative must have the offer and the brand in every single frame for it to have a chance. Many ads that I have seen take too long to get the brand and message displayed. You must start with the message or offer and have the brand on every frame. The you can include supporting copy, otherwise, consider the creative a failure.

A staging platform of a site allows the client to see how chaotic a site can be and how many ways a visitor can do something other than the desired action which is click. Clients and creatives are both to blame for this as they know no better. If you want better results, test the creative first in “live” platform and see if you can see the reason its being created in the first place.

Smart buying or Gaming the system?

There has been a lot of talk recently about Google and CPG marketers around the value of search as it relates to branding. However, as brands and retailers bid on the same keywords, it drives up the cost and ultimately hurts both parties. So, some companies have looked more closely at co-op search marketing where certain terms are off limits to various parties involved, thus reducing the competition and costs.

Other companies have tried to create search copy that does not elicit a click, searching for the ‘free impression’ but Google’s algorithm will reduce rank or remove completely if there is not enough click volume. After all, Google knows how they make money and will only serve ads that are likely to get clicks.

This question is also raised is in the ad network space. If I can buy inventory on a CPC basis and remove any call to action, it is likely that the CTR will decrease dramatically, thus extending the reach of the buy for branding purposes. I see this as smart buying. The current situation in the market allows people to complete this kind of buy, of course, with client approval. If the client is expecting clicks, you better have a prominent call to action, brand logo in every frame and other ways to increase the CTR. Overall, the industry is young and it seems like Google wrote the rules first, but that doesn’t mean that they will be around forever and that they are the golden rule for all online media. Until I see that this is truly gaming the system and unfairly punishing someone, I think it is a smart strategy for certain campaigns.

Dodge to spend 29% online

Dodge announced they will spend 29% of their launch budget for their new crossover the Journey. Dodge will use a mix of portal takeovers, search and behavioral targeting to seek individuals who are ready to buy a car and meet their target demographic. This is the largest amount of online spend the Chrysler company has dedicated to launch a new product through the online channel.

Dodge started testing with 20 ads and then cut that down to 6 ads that met the desired performance metrics. Interesting note to see was that blue background ads performed better than green.

Online branding can be done

In today’s “Around the net in online marketing: section two”, John Battelle argues that the web is lousy for branding initiatives. I would like to argue that point. I think the web can be used for branding initiatives if done correctly. Some of John’s points are very valid about the low click rates and typical direct response metrics tied to online marketing.

I believe branding can be accomplished with direct response marketing, especially with the economy entering a recession. Display ads don’t need to be amazing creative masterpieces, their goal is to drive a click to a landing page that the user can learn more or engage with the brand. Whats wrong with a banner saying click here to learn more from a top 20 brand? I don’t see anything wrong, and think Coke Zero did a great branding job online during March Madness with 100% online promotion.

Brands can go online and push promotions and differentiating factors on a CPC buy and only buy clicks from interested individuals where a TV or two-page print add is paid upfront. The risk is greatly reduced of looked at from a media viewpoint.

Brands that are willing to take the risk and use the economies of scale that the internet has to offer might become the big winners after the economy turns around and consumers are more confident and begin spending. The other large benefit the internet has to offer brand marketers is tracking and optimization. Print and TV can be targeted by publication and site, but not much further. Online marketing allows the net to be cast wide and far and then honed back in based upon results, oh yeah, creative can be tested as well.

All of this leads me to believe that branding campaigns can be successful online. With the technology of rich media banners placing TV commercials in a banner (Coke Zero lawyer campaign) to buying on a CPC or CPM below $1, online marketing offers brand advertisers a wide variety of options to pursue. I agree it does not have the cache of a Super Bowl spot, or a 1/4 page spread in the WSJ, but I can stretch the dollar a lot further and get more eyeballs and engagement with the brand than a traditional media campaign.

Overall, brand marketers need to be media cognostic and not worry about the media that is being used, but choose the right media for the campaign objectives whatever they might be. After all, GM would not come out and say they are shifting 50% of their ad spending to online marketing if I was completely wrong.

ESPN cuts ties with Ad Networks

ESPN.com has made a bold move and cut ties with ad networks. They are taking the stand that arbitrage and algorithms that are the current basis of online advertising is not for them. It will be interesting to see if ESPN’s cry for other large sites to follow suit is heard and accepted or if they continue the mixed sales channel of direct sales and filling remnant inventory with ad networks.

Clearly, there are two groups that are forming within the online marketing world. The math driven data side and the premium brand inventory side and ad networks are being caught in the middle. I see arguments for both parties as to why they are right, but unfortunately I can only see both for large sites such as ESPN. There are thousands of smaller sites that rely on ad networks to pump ads through the system to support their sites as they don’t have a full time sales force to sell premium sponsorships or placements.

This will be an interesting intersection in the online display advertising future to watch and see how other large premium content sites react and if they take the stance of ESPN, or still allow ad networks to sell their remnant inventory. This might be the first domino in a long line of moves that shake up the display advertising model, and I am sure the big boys of Yahoo and Google are taking note, not to mention the likes of Advertising.com, Specific Media, Valueclick and the likes.