We’re working on a media kit and collateral material for an internet company looking to boost its advertising substantially. The company has done extremely well for advertisers (mostly dr advertisers) on a cost per click basis. One reason for its success is that the user/consumer chooses this navigation tool – it isn’t embedded in some other software – and it isn’t spyware.
There’s another strong reason this works for advertisers: ad targeting is contextual. In others words, I would only see an ad for GM if I clicked onto the “Auto” bar on my browser, or if I clicked onto another auto manufacturer’s ad.
Think about how much better this is than having a car ad pop up when I’m on, say, The Atlantic Monthly site. My head is specifically into automobiles and not a James Fallows’ interview or essay. When I see an ad at the time my mind is on that subject, I’m going to spend much more time with it, and I’m probably going to take some kind of action now, rather than later.
I used The Atlantic Monthly for a reason (other than that I think it’s one of the greatest contributions to American culture). Some 20 years ago, a media director at O&M Direct was putting a test schedule together for me when I was running circulation for Standard & Poor’s The Outlook.
Barron’s was starting to wear out because we were running so frequently, and we were looking for other publications to test. The media director made a strong argument for The Atlantic Monthly – similar demographics to The Outlook subscriber; a surprisingly good average investment portfolio, etc. I bit. Big mistake: no context, no response.
Sometimes advertising, particularly print advertising, can become contextual. Suppose, for example, you’re generating leads for a foreign language course. You run small space print in the travel section of the major newspapers. That ad may run 50 times and I’ll never notice it. But when I’m planning to travel internationally I definitely will see it because there is now context.
Lee Marc Stein heads his own direct marketing strategy and creative services firm. The consultancy contributes to its clients’ profitable growth through sound marketing and test plans, creative development and execution, database and media maximization, and customer nurturing programs. Lee works with all size companies in both consumer and business markets. Contact Lee at 631 724-3765, lmstein@optonline.net, or through http://www.leemarcstein.com/.
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