The New Advertising Age
Author: ROMAN BODNARCHUK

Have you been feeling like advertising just isn’t cutting it anymore? Have you thought that traditional media is becoming too fragmented to produce effective advertising results? Do you think that the ads, these days, are horrendous? Perhaps you are frustrated by increasing ad placement costs despite declining viewership of traditional media? If you feel this way, you are in good company – most advertisers today feel this way.

So, how does a dynamic company, like yours, maintain strong growth in this current advertising climate? Well, my fellow entrepreneurs, you are living through an advertising revolution. We are the lucky pioneers of powerful new media that are more effective and efficient that their predecessors! Welcome to the new Advertising Age of Digital Media.

The Digital R-Evolution – Five Reasons to Consider Online Advertising

If traditional marketing is not giving you the results you want, consider adding online media to your marketing mix. If you have not already heard, online advertising has many advantages over old media and should be truly considered an advertising evolution. Here’s why:

Firstly, online advertising is measurable. Web Metrics enable digital ad agencies to report exact numbers and scads of data. Using opt-in permission-based data collection techniques means you can get lots of information from your customers that can be cross- tabulated and analyzed. Use this data to find out who your customer is, what they buy, when they buy, what pages of your website they visit, where they come from, why they use your company and anything else you want to know. Traditional media has never been able to provide “exact” numbers, only estimates based on extrapolations of the general population based on a very small sample group.

Secondly, online advertising allows you to send different ads to different segments within your core target market. Sending a relevant ad to a consumer, based on his stage of life, marital status or whatever other criteria you choose will mean the recipient of the message thinks you are a company that “speaks to him”. Personalization is a HUGE advantage when trying to woo a customer – and it costs very little additional cost to send new ads based on a new target segment. Sure, you can segment your message with traditional advertising media – but it will cost you a fortune!

Thirdly, online advertising is versatile. Unlike traditional advertising which is static, online advertising can be refreshed and updated anytime – and to keep your customers visiting your website often, your site content should be updated frequently. Funky features can be added into your site, including full-motion video, animated or 3-D graphics, e-commerce and sound. Keep it interesting – change it often.

Fourthly, online advertising is cost effective. A four-month online advertising campaign costs only a fraction of a four-month television campaign (about ,000 for an online promotion as compared to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a TV campaign). In fact, online advertising is less expensive than almost any traditional mass media because it can be targeted right to your target group – only those you want to see your message will see your message.

Lastly, online advertising is FAST! Want to change your message? It’s EASY! Updating your website can take minutes. In fact, a whole website can be created in as little as a few days.

To make online advertising even more attractive, consider that Americans are online en masse. As a country, we love email and it is fast becoming the preferred form of communication. But, we also like to research products, play games, and shop online. Recent US Census data projects that over 55% of all Americans use the Internet on a regular basis.

Not Just Banners Anymore! – Five Ideas to Consider for Your Marketing Mix

So, you’re interested in doing online advertising, but not sure where to start? There are many forms of online media for you to consider. A reputable digital ad agency will be able to help you choose the most effective online media for your objectives, target market and timing, but here are just a few ideas of online marketing uses to get you thinking about incorporating online media into your marketing mix:

Corporate Website

Surely, as a smart small business manager, you have a corporate website. If you don’t, you’d better get one – and fast! If you already have a website, here are some tips to ensure return visits from your target market:
1. Refresh your website content and graphics often.
2. Continuity with your offline brand message (it should be an extension, really) is important and have a polished, professional look.
3. Make sure your website is enticing, interesting and interactive.
4. The overall message should be compelling and suit the target market.
5. Always give your customers a way to reach you online and publish phone numbers in case they want to talk to you. Customer service is just as important online as it is offline.




Monthly Email Newsletters

To keep your company top-of-mind with your consumers, consider online newsletters deployed to your database in regular intervals. Since you likely experience the 80/20 rule (20% of your customers give you 80% of your sales), inform them regularly of sales, new products or anything else you can think of. Be sure that your e-newsletters have brand continuity with your other corporate identities and are professional and link to your other online properties. Create a viral component within e-newsletters to encourage existing customers to refer new customers. E-newsletters are also a great way to keep in contact with employees. There are lots of great applications for e-newsletters. However, don’t just do an e-newsletter for the sake of having an e-newsletter – have an intriguing message or offer in every newsletter or recipients will start opting out.

Online Promotions & Contests

This is my favorite type of online advertising application (I like online contests so much, it is the foundation of my business). A contest micro-site can be set up to build databases, to acquire detailed information from your consumers, to create awareness for your brand and to relay information about your product offerings. You can also add a viral component to your site to encourage your existing consumers to tell their friends about your company. Point the contest micro-site to your corporate website to give the recipient a chance to investigate more about your company. There are too many applications and features of a micro-site to mention here. If you are interested in hearing more, contact me.

SMS Text Marketing

Do your customers have a propensity towards using cell phones? If you are targeting youth markets or business-types, you might want to consider Short Messaging Service (SMS) marketing. Already a huge hit in Europe and Asia, SMS is when your consumers receive your advertising message on the text display of their cell phone. Use SMS to drive the recipient to call a 1-800-number, register on a website, or be somewhere. SMS is the newest form of direct marketing.

Banners, SkyScrapers and Interstitials

The first, and most basic form of advertising, these ads can be hyperlinked to either your corporate website or your contest website, or both. Banner-type advertising can be static or animated and sits on a high-traffic online portal (like msnbc.com, for example). Your banner will be displayed as an ad in the msnbc.com content and if the viewer is interested, they will click from the banner through to your website. When online advertising was new, everyone was clicking through on banners out of curiosity, but nine years later, banners are like wallpaper and just not seen (hint: banners can still be effective if you use a good digital ad agency to produce professional, interesting and compelling banners).

Search Engine Advertising

You can now pay for placement in web searches. Say you are a florist in Denver and you buy search engine placement. When someone does a search for a florist in Denver, your ad will be placed at the top of the results list, or in a special section high up on the results page. You are charged only for the people that click through to your website (cost-per-click).

The Future of Advertising

If traditional advertising is not getting results for you any more, what have you got to lose by trying online advertising. The big brands are already sold on online advertising and have been online for years. Many marketing managers are dedicating up to 10% of their budgets to integrated online advertising with plans to dedicate more in coming years. Do like the big brands and let a reputable digital ad agency work with you to show you the way.









--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roman Bodnarchuk is the Chairman and CEO of N5R Inc, the leading relationship marketing firm for global brands whose clients include Proctor and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Abbott Laboratory, Apple, Microsoft, Hershey's, Hilton, Sears, Staples, Intrawest, TD Waterhouse, Nissan and Ford etc. An internationally acclaimed business speaker, lives in Toronto but travels around the world educating clients on how to use the latest marketing technologies to build better customer relations. For more information, please visit http://www.n5r.com or call 416-920-9382

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------