Clicks, Schmicks…
January 7, 2009 by Marcus
Is there a value to online brand advertising? Think that question through: In print, advertisers hope for a call to action but frequently buy at least somewhat on the basis on gaining mind-share and brand awareness for when the prospect decides they’re interested later down the road. But online, buyers tend to buy click-throughs, largely discounting, complaining about or otherwise ignoring the value of unclicked brand impressions.
A company called Specific Media has just released a study showing how the use of display ads stimulate later search activity, even though the ads aren’t clicked on now. Keep in mind that Specific Media’s in the ad placement business, so it makes sense they’d want to prove that unclicked ads do something, but regardless of the messenger, the message is interesting, and worth pointing out on your next sales call.
So, put it in a nutshell…besides digital, what are the greatest things top marketing execs are demanding from their advertising?
Thanks for the question, Mike… This study didn’t go into what marketing execs want — only what they should be wanting: exposure, as well as leads.
At the end of the day, marketing guys want sales, but we easily fall into the trap of thinking that the only thing digital can give us is tangible leads through clicks. Truth is, brand building still has value, even if it isn’t so easy to quantify. (As the marketing guy here, I wish this wasn’t true, because it makes my job HARDER. Nevertheless, it IS true, so my move is to evaluate how my ads effect my brand even when they haven’t been clicked.)
Marcus…I guess where my fear lies with everyone jumping on the digital bandwagon is that for the most part I don’t see that they engage the reader like printed pieces. Don’t get me wrong, I see the benefits such as cost and margin for the publisher as well as the click through benefits and low advertising costs for the advertiser but, isn’t the engagement of the reader where it’s at? I also realize that at the end of the day in this economy it’s how can we lower costs and increase penetration at the same time but, I think integration is key so we don’t follow each other off the cliff.
That’s a great point, Mike, and I agree: engagement IS where it’s at.
More often that not, we compare engagement times of a digital magazine to a website, and the data shows the digital magazines wins every time, both in terms of click-throughs and time spent inside.
As far as comparing a digital magazine to a print magazine, they are just very different animals. With today’s technology, a digital magazine CAN’T give me the level of intimacy of print. However, it can do other things to drive engagement – bonus video interviews, direct links to other material, etc… All of these things help boost engagement, not necessarily BETTER than print, but DIFFERENT than print and (here’s the kicker) at a fraction of the cost of print, and with a built-in ROI.
To us, the digital magazine doesn’t replace the print OR the website. But it’s cheaper than print and more engaging than a website, so it fits in a nice spot in between.