Introduction to Internet Advertising by IAB ex-Chief

I just came across a thorough presentation compiled by Greg Stuart, former CEO and President of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). It is called an “In-Depth Introduction to Internet Advertising” and is a whopping 82 slides. However, it contains many great sound-bites as well as stats that any interactive marketer should have in their arsenal.

Here are a few stats that I’ll share next time I talk to a ‘traditional media’ marketer:

64% of US households answered “Computer with Internet Access” to the question “If you had to live on a deserted island and could only take one thing with you.” 18% said books, 6% said TV, 6% said radio, 4% said cell phone and 1% said newspaper subscription.

General Motors, the 3rd largest US advertiser, is ready to shift half of its 3 billion budget into digital and one-to-one marketing within the next 3 years.

In a multi-advertiser cross media optimization study (measuring on-line and off-line effects) sales increased by 11% on average from customers who had been exposed to online advertising, compared to those who hadn’t.

It cost about 4 times as much to increase purchase intention via magazine advertising and 11 times as much via TV – compared to online advertising.

There’s a lot more to read, especially on ad formats, measurements, online challenges (oh yeah, it’s not all honky-dory). You can find the full presentation here

There is no best, one-size-fits-all online ad format

It’s hard to be a marketer today with so many new, exciting technologies to pick from, each one casting itself as the holy grail of campaign performance. Video, widgets, search advertising, social apps, in-game ads, virtual worlds, expanding banners, behavioral targeting, location based mobile ads, digital out of home advertising, even radio via Google!

I can’t tell if it’s a media planner’s dream or nightmare, but a fair share of us probably feel more confused than enlightened.

What I am pretty sure about, however, is that they all have some merit, but none of them is a one-size-fits all solution. What’s good for branding might not be a recipe for lead generation success. Choice of format, targeting, message and measurement all need to align with campaign goals.

In a recent report from Forrester research called“Getting more out of online ads” advertisers are encouraged to take a more holistic approach to planning and executing online advertising programs.To paraphrase, they recommend advertisers to:
- first determine their business goals
- then identify desired customer action and how they can entice this action
- and finally how to track and measure actual customers’ actions vis-à-vis the campaign goals

Pretty common sense when put this way, isn’t it?

James Brown & Banner Advertising

James Brown, the Hardest Working Man in Show Biz, earned his titles with his splits, hard hitting grooves, riffs and stabs. Carrying the funk scene on his shoulders for years, even when funk was in the funk, was a tall order for a short man. But he did it.

The interactive advertising industry, like the music industry, has its own lineup of characters to make sure the beat goes on. For online advertising, the hardest working medium in the biz has to be the banner ad. Like Mr. Brown, it has survived new trends and new kids on the block, yet has found ways to get on up and get even.

Banner’s got a brand new bag

Recently, renewed interest in the banner ad has been fueled by new targeting technologies coupled with more visually engaging and interactive Flash and video formats. The hardest working ad format in the biz, is working even harder. But working for what?

It seems that the industry has chosen to take advantage of these technological improvements in two ways: Create more relevant advertising (via better targeting) and secondly, more engaging ads (via richer media experiences).

More relevant advertising generates more clicks. Can’t argue with that logic. However, I’m not sure advertisers have quite figured out what to do with the new rich(er) media ads. My gut feeling says that many advertisers are investing in this type of advertising purely for their branding effect. Maybe the thinking is “if we can’t make users click, let’s at least make the experience memorable, and score high on brand recall and awareness.” That’s a tall order for a small banner.

Take them to center stage

So, I have an issue with this thinking. If you want to do brand advertising, why resort to a 728×90 or 350 x 250 pixel canvas on a 3rd party site? Why wouldn’t brand advertisers’ primary goal be to get the user to click away from the publisher page and into a rich, interactive environment completely under the control of the advertiser? Why tap-dance in a closet when you can do splits center stage?

A different second act for the banner

At Linkstorm we have chosen to take a different approach to improving banner efficiency that stands in contrast to both how “other vendors” think about targeting as well as engagement.

Targeting: We believe that the best targeting technology can never truly know what the user really wants. Our format is designed to allow the user to quickly identify and navigate to content that is relevant to them.

User Engagement: We believe that the best place to convert a customer, whatever the campaign goal is, is on the advertiser’s site, not in the banner. Our banners are therefore designed to be a conduit rather than a destination, where we increase both the quantity and quality of the traffic the advertiser receives. Simply, more & better clicks.

- vidar