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Beyond Clicks: How Well is Your Display Ad Campaign Working?

anne — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Measure Online Display Ad Effectiveness to Determine Full Effect of Campaign

The problem with the use of click-through rates as the sole measure of online display advertising effectiveness is that CTR ignores a host of other ‘view-thru’ advertising effectiveness measures that impact roi, including recall, purchase intent, awareness, etc.

A recent ComScore post reflects the opinion of many online publishers, advertisers and agencies, by asserting that display ad effectiveness measurement should consider view-thru metrics that provide marketers with “an understanding of what consumers are doing, not just saying, in the days and weeks after seeing display ads, and have an understanding of the volume of search activity that is being driven by ad exposure.”

Certainly CTR can be useful, such as comparing the performance of creative executions. But the value of the CTR metric has been overemphasized by some online ad sellers seeking to grab spend from traditional media by emphasizing the performance and interactivity of online advertising. And let’s face it – for advertisers hungry for proof of roi, CTR is easy to understand, even if it doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s easy to see how online advertising has become a one-click pony. Sorry.

What’s a marketer to do? For advertisers that can afford it, there are plenty of custom research options to help them analyze the effectiveness of their display ad campaigns. Or, if you run display advertising campaigns on the Google Content Network you can utilize their “View-through conversion reporting” to measure how well your compaign increased brand awareness and purchase consideration, in “those instances where your ad is seen, but not immediately clicked on. More specifically, View-through Conversion reporting measures the number of conversions that occurred within 30 days of your display ad appearing for which there was no ad click generated.”

Google also offers advertisers access to Campaign Insights , “a unique measurement tool that can give reliable data about how a campaign has raised brand awareness, or active user interest, in a particular product or service. It looks beyond the traditional measures of clicks and conversions to calculate the incremental lift in both online search activity and website visits that result from a display ad campaign.” Campaign Insights compares two data sets from thousands of consumers who both did and did not see the ads, while also filtering out the impact of other media influences, such as TV.

Analyzing online display advertising beyond clicks makes sense for advertisers who want to build sustainable revenue and brands.

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Brand News: Mother's Cookies, Macy's, Subway, SnapNames, AT&T, Verizon

anne — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Kellogg (K) is using social media to take regional brand, Mother's Cookies, national. The campaign seeks to “link the cookies in consumers’ minds to “moments of joy,” via tactics including a Facebook “cookie personality” quiz, scavenger hunt and a collage-like mix of videos and photos on MothersCookies.com. Brandweek 11/7/09

The beloved brand was born 1914 when the owner of a San Francisco newspaper stand begain selling home-baked cookies. The company closed its doors in 2008 and was relaunched by Kellogg in 2009. Image credit: MothersCookies.com

Macy’s is reprising its “Believe” campaign this month, which recounts the famous, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” editorial from the New York Sun. The campaign incorporates numerous elements including a 30-minute, animated special on CBS, a 25-city Santa tour a commercial featuring Grammy Award-winning singer Queen Latifah and a “Telll Us Why You Believe” contest that enables people to share their thoughts about what they believe in and why they believe.” Brandweek 11/7/09

Subway has added Seattle’s Best to its breakfast menu. Seattle’s Best is owned by Starbucks Corp. (STBX) Brandweek 11/6/09

Sears (SHLD) will add a new line of Jenn-Air kitchen appliances to its lineup this month, the only national retail chain to sell the high-end appliances. Sears market share in appliances has dropped from 40% to 31% over the last decade. Chicago Tribune 11/5/09

Borders (BGP) will close 200 Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores and cut 1,500 jobs in January so that it can focus on its more profitable superstores. Miami Herald 11/5/09

SnapNames, the largest the largest reseller of Web site names, has admitted that an employee was shill bidding on auctions to enrich himself and drive up the cost of names sold by the company. SnapNames says just 5 percent of total auctions between 2005 and 2007 were affected, about one percent of the company’s auction revenue during that same time. Washington Post 11/4/09, TechCrunch 11/4/09

For more on this topic:

SnapNames: Apologies Shouldn’t Be Conditional, Especially When You Steal From Customers

AT&T (ATT) is suing Verizon (VZ) over Verizon’s “There’s a map for that” ad. The ad plays on Apple’s “there’s an App for That” slogan---but that’s not the problem. At issue is a map in the ad (see map graphic, video below) that shows that Verizon has 5 times more 3G coverage than AT&T, but doesn't show that the gaps in AT&T 3G coverage might be covered by AT&T's 2G network.

AT&T accuses Verizon of “misleading consumers into believing that AT&T doesn't offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country.” Engadget 11/3/09 Image Credit: Techflash

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Blogs Help Businesses Build Brands and Generate Sales

anne — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:30:00 +0000

Results from Technorati’s “State of the Blogosphere 2009,” reported by eMarketer, indicates that blogs can help companies build brands and generate sales.

According to eMarketer the study shows that 71% of bloggers who post for a business had increased visibility for their company, 63% had converted prospects into purchasers through their blog, and 56% have seen their blog bring their company recognition as a thought leader in the industry.

Creating and maintaining a blog requires a lot of effort---one of the reasons that many blogs are started and then quickly abandoned. But the study shows that developing a strategy, consistently publishing engaging content, and being patient can pay off.

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CEO Posts Shirtless Photos of Himself on Facebook---Too Much?

anne — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

CEO Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, a $230 million boutique hotel company with more than 3,000 employees and 38 properties, was criticized by some of his employees when he posted shirtless photos of himself taken at Burning Man on his Facebook page. In one, Conley is wearing a tutu; in the other a sarong. He also shared his sadness on Twitter when a personal relationship ended.

The employees felt the photos and tweets were inappropriate for a CEO and violated the company’s own social media policy that restricts employees from behaviors that harm the Joie de Vivre brand.

The CEO’s response? Offended employees should go work at Marriott. Conley says he’s being authentic by adhering to the company’s mission statement to celebrate the joy of life, and any employee is free to do the same---as long as they don’t violate the policy.

UPDATE: Looks like the disputed photos have been removed from public view.

Scamville Fallout

anne — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:39:04 +0000

Last week we posted about TechCrunch's expose of social gaming companies, such as Zynga, who make hundreds of millions of dollars on Facebook and MySpace by scamming players who accept offers for in-game currency. The problem is that the special offers are really lead generation scams. One example: a “Farm IQ Quiz” offered by Offerpal rewards the user with Farm Cash for taking the survey---and signs them up to a $9.99/month mobile subscription without the user’s consent.

Since then the CEO of Offerpal, who was videotaped calling the assertions “shit, double shit and bullshit,” has been replaced. The new CEO admits the company has made mistakes and promises to do better.

A previous video of the Zynga CEO, Mark Pincus, has surfaced showing him saying:

“I did every horrible thing in the book to, just to get revenues right away. I mean we gave our users poker chips if they downloaded this zwinky toolbar which was like, I don’t know, I downloaded it once and couldn’t get rid of it.”

The video is below: if you're viewing it at work, turn the volume down; Pincus drops the F-bomb in it.

Facebook promises to be more vigilant in ferreting out these scams, but despite having made, reportedly, lots of money on these deals, I think they (along with the scammed consumers) are the losers here. Scams like this cause legitimate advertisers to question the wisdom of advertising on Facebook, MySpace and others, especially after seeing headlines like this: Are You Getting Scammed by Facebook Games?, or How To Spam Facebook Like A Pro: An Insider’s Confession. It doesn't help that scams like these have been occurring for awhile.

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brandeo

Beyond Clicks: How Well is Your Display Ad Campaign Working?

Brand News: Mother's Cookies, Macy's, Subway, SnapNames, AT&T, Verizon

Blogs Help Businesses Build Brands and Generate Sales

CEO Posts Shirtless Photos of Himself on Facebook---Too Much?

Related Links

Scamville Fallout

Related Links