Dear Reader,

Online Display VS Search?

I recently read an article posted on ADOTAS.com entitled Display and Search, Perfect Together by Russell Glass. The gist of the article reveals a common philosophy that display ads (banners, leaders etc.) and search ads simply don’t fit together in the media mix. Key word advertising has been the largest segment of growth and holds approximately 41% of total revenue in online advertising and….it just so happens that Google along with other proponents of search think it is more effective than display. Really!!

Vertical sites and leaders in display are starting to fight back with the release of new data points that show display has its earned place in the media buy and provides significant lift to ROI when used alone or in conjunction with search campaigns. This probably sounds familiar for those of you familiar with the old argument of sales rep detail, VS DTC, VS meetings and events, VS HCP print advertising for pharmaceutical brand promotion. The end result of these studies (RAPP/ARPP) and others like them show that exponential levels of sell through could be achieved by investing in a good mix of integrated media campaigns that use multiple formats and tactics to achieve reach, frequency and brand communication objectives. No one medium is best unto itself.

I have always thought of the immediate branding effect of banners as similar to outdoor advertising with billboards, taxi cab doors, busses and point of purchase areas in the craziest places (like gas pump nozzles or the order dividers at the grocery check-out area). Each has lower scores on message impact due to tight copy restrictions but they get high marks for promoting retention of brand awareness and cost effectiveness.  You can reach a lot of people in a short period of time for a very good cpm. Banner ads additionally provide an interactive component. At best they are engaging and at worst they can be in total context of subject and linked to the immediate need to know more. The big challenge for display lies in how marketers are measuring their effect. Display ads offer the possibility of direct measurement VS other media therefore most marketers assume the effectiveness of the ad ends there. The “new research” is an attempt at measuring intrinsic value that is not necessarily measured in click through alone.

• Increased visits to the advertisers website (lift of 46% over a four week period)  comScore Nov. 2008    
• Higher likelihood of consumers conducting a search query using the advertisers branded terms (giving a 38% lift to search over a four week period)  comScore Nov. 2008
• Likelihood of buying a brand rises by 27% with display advertising online. comScore Nov. 2008
• 56% of those exposed to Alltel (phones) display ads were more likely to buy their product than if exposed to Alltel search ads alone. Atlas Institute (Microsoft)

The bottom line is that we live in a society that is pervasive with messages and massive levels of exposure. Promotions 2.0, the Future of Interactive Marketing, Slide 7 shows the average person will see 5,000 ad impressions per day. It is incumbent on a good promotion plan to show balance and integration of media to achieve the desired levels of reach, frequency and engagement that breaks through the clutter. Each format has its place but I am glad to see online display have its day in the sun.

Cheers,

Ray Thibodeau, Vice President

References:

1. Display and Search, Perfect Together?
   
2. RAPP study and ARPP Analysis on the Association of Medical Media website.
3. Promotions 2.0, The Future of Interactive Media

Network News

Several factors are at work driving down CPM prices, Advertising Age reports. For starters, the economy is tanking, and advertisers are cutting back on their brand campaigns, which includes display ad spending. Then there's the expanding glut of online inventory that's putting further stress on prices and making it even harder to monetize content.

According to unnamed sources on both the buying and selling sides, cost-per-thousand ad impressions for online publishers are about 20% this year, and whereas publishers used to unload 60% of their inventory, some now sell only 30%.

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