The TruEffect Blog

Display bests Search - how well do your campaigns work together?

We've been hearing more and more about the value of Display advertising, and for good reason. A study released this week by Fetchback demonstrates that its retargeting technology outperforms paid search in tangible returns on the dollars invested in each. Their comparison tests showed between 74% and 112% higher ROI, compared with search campaigns. It's nice to have the validation, but we're not that surprised. The beauty of online advertising has always been its ability to deliver the right message to the right person, and the success of paid search is only a testament to that fact. So it's not surprising that display targeting technologies are rushing to close the gap, and succeeding in spades.

Not only can a well designed, targeted display campaign beat search, but data compiled on how display and search interact shows unequivocally that consumers' exposure to display ads has a definitive impact in lifting search conversion. An MSN/Comscore study in 2008 showed that a combination of search and display doubled site visits over Search alone, and tripled the size of the average purchase spend.

This week reports show U.S. consumer confidence up in April, so it's a great time to closely examine multicampaign attribution, and rethink online budget distribution. Smart advertisers can take advantage now with a good display/search media mix, as consumers shop and research online, gearing up for purchases as confidence in the economy improves. In their Multi-Attribution report from February, Forrester said "Given today's challenging economic times...marketers should begin measuring multicampaign attribution now, before it becomes a corporate mandate."

– Layne Salter

Newspaper impressions

Jim Nichols takes a different angle on recent newspapers' demise in his iMediaConnection article.  He points out the fact that while the internet has played a major role in killing paper news by giving consumers free news and content, it's still largely in the infancy stage of figuring out its own business model.  But he also reminds us that many papers are doing a fantastic job creating and offering digital content.

I think he's hit on something. It's true that news content has the ability to generate a highly sought after audience. Couple that with the fact that online offers superior technology in ad targeting. Unlike newspaper readers having to wade through pages of huge furniture and auto ads that may have no bearing on their interests, digital content can provide its readers with targeted, even custom ads. Online targeting promises a lot, but will it deliver enough to boost display advertising?

I second Jim's call to advertisers to go out and buy some impressions on a digital newspaper. Who knows? You might save a journalist's job, and keep the world safe from glib and depthless television news.

– Layne Salter

Rocky Mountain News - Rest in Peace

Today I was saddened to hear the long-awaited announcement that tomorrow one of our local newspapers will be ceasing operations.  The Rocky Mountain News is two months from its 150th anniversary and has won a Pulitzer Prize for journalism four times – an accomplishment shared by very few newspapers in the world.  And other awards stack up behind the Pulitzers. 

Now it would be easy to ask why I, an internet media guy, wouldn’t see this as another validation that online is the future.  And, isn’t this failure just another example of an industry that has not remained competitive and deserves to go extinct?  Well, it’s just not that simple.  The internet, and internet media, has been an explosive success because it has enabled the sharing of information across society with an efficacy and speed that boggles the mind.  We can learn a great deal about almost anything in seconds, which has redefined business, education, government, global trade, culture, health care, and even how we interact as human beings.  But, the internet does not create the content. 

People are the authors of everything we share online.  Teachers share their lessons.  Analysts share their expertise.  Scientists share their research.  Musicians share their songs.  And journalists share their news stories, photos and commentaries.  The internet has not offered any substitute for this wealth of knowledge, yet it seems to have put into jeopardy the business models that feed some of these authors, journalists in particular.  At its most lofty, journalism is chartered with reflecting every side of an issue as truthfully as possible. Thomas Carlyle’s “Fourth Estate” has been a cornerstone of a free and open society, and has been particularly important in American history. 

So what difference does this make to those of us in digital media?  Each and every one of us in the business can attribute our revenue and our paycheck to the media budgets of the advertisers that pay to get their message in front of consumers.  Consumers want content.  Compelling content.  Entertaining content.  Useful content.  It’s the content that draws traffic that drives ad revenue.  And one of the earliest and most successful sources of content on the web is news.  Journalism.  Obviously, we’ve evolved from headlines on CompuServe to tweets and blogs from “citizen journalists”, but we collectively depend heavily on the news, weather, entertainment and sports reporting from professionals.  Professionals who have failed to morph their business model in a sustainable way, but continue to blindly feed the model that is their Brutus.  Walter Isaacson provides an excellent analysis and a provocative proposal in his recent Time Magazine article.

We have heard in the last few days that television seems to be surviving quite nicely, thank you very much.  And that’s true – kudos to the ability of that industry to remain relevant.  But newspapers are the most entrenched source for local issues and the most connected with their communities.  Newspapers at every level provide an enormous amount of quality content that drives a lot of revenue to our industry.  If we fail to recognize the need to nourish and grow quality content, then we’ll find ourselves struggling for relevance as well.  How successful would an internet be if comprised solely of advertising??

I grew up on a Midwestern river which fueled the growth of towns large and small and supports fish and wildlife as well as agriculture and recreation.  As commerce up and down that river grew, the Army Corps of Engineers decided to make the channel deeper and straighter in an attempt to facilitate large shipping barges.  This well-intended move to efficiency and effectiveness turned the meandering river into a fast-flowing “ditch” that has become too treacherous for many swimmers and boaters, and eliminated some of the shallower pools and eddies that were home to all kinds of creatures.  The need of the people living along the river to exploit this natural resource for commercial gain has eaten away at the real value it brings.  What a self-defeating tragedy it would be if the internet ad industry followed suit and drove quality content providers such as professional journalists out of business. 

- Scott Nelson

Grownups say the darndest things

Americans love the First Amendment. But what happens when it intersects blogging, Twitter and other social media? A morning jaunt that began with an industry newsletter with the headline "ValueClick whacked over email; commentors gleeful," took me on a brief, but crazy ride.

First, a no doubt, well meaning, Media Development Manager at ValueClick (no, I won't mention his name and create yet another Search result for his faux pas) was publicly chastised by Jeremy Schoemaker on his ShoeMoney blog, and on his Twitter account. He called a sales email "spam" and implied it was in violation of the Canned Spam Act, simply because the sender made a copy and paste mistake and did not delete a previous form email to another prospective client. The onslaught of comments further raked the guy over the coals. Most of us understand that the Canned Spam Act  is for commercial emailers, not poor sales schlubs trying to do their job. Also, the fact that it was a cut and paste error implies that the solicitations were being sent individually, not as a mass email anyway. If we're going to blast others for spam, (no pun intended) let's at least understand our definitions.

From here, I was led to another article, "Virgin sues Adrants over fake Hudson River crash ad."  The ad, which turned out to be fake, said, "The Hudson River Crash: Just one more reason to fly Virgin."  The blog post even mentions that the source of the print was suspect, but what the heck. It's just a blog, right?  And from AdRants, after all, already known for its over the top commentary on advertisements. Is this libel, or simply a joke in poor taste gone bad?

From there, I wound up back at the ShoeMoney blog, and out of curiosity scrolled through some other posts, and came across a Fox news video outing the owner of the Lafayette French Pastry shop in New York. The bakery, said to be a celebrity favorite and used in "Sex and the City" is selling a chocolate cookie called "drunken negro heads." The baker says he has the right to name his pastries however he sees fit, but critics believe he's crossed the line between freedom of expression and blatant racism. Oddly, critics and journalists alike have failed to critique the actual cookie. I'm just wondering if the baker thought its wonderful taste warranted his flagrant disregard for political correctness? And Fox News – responsible journalism, or free advertising for the bakery?

By writing this, am I adding to the publicity cycles of things that should never have made headlines in the first place? Or simply expressing an opinion on the state of social networking?  Regardless, only time will tell if court intervention will propagate new legislation on our latest communication phenomenon.

Or, perhaps the economic slump has simply resulted in people having too much time on their hands? Nah, it's always been this way.

– Layne Salter

2009 - a year for audacious innovation

Then – 2008 has certainly given the "Mad Hatter's Ride" a run for the money. It's been a wild year of firsts, fads, and fears – the Wall Street crash and government bail-outs, the election of our first African-American president, Googlzilla gobbling up the world, baby boomers outpacing Gen X/Y-ers online, Warren Buffett losing $13.6 billion, the iPhone, a retail clerk trampled to death by an early shopping mob when the industry feared everyone would stay home, and let's not forget, human communication reduced to 140 character tweets. Need I say more? Publications are already full of the "best of 2008" articles for our retrospective delights, and "2009 predictions" to satisfy our curiosities. But the only prediction I'd take to the bank is, it won't be 'business as usual.' So we'd like to invite you to take a deep breath, and a few minutes to get in touch with your inner marketer/advertiser/technologist.

Now – If we take only one lesson from history, it's that challenging times breed innovation. Not to diminish the tough times and anxieties ahead, but what better to bring out the best and the brightest? When things are going well, it's easy to settle into a rut, or worse, become complacent. While this year has been dominated by large internet mergers and acquisitions, and a failing economy – next year is almost certain to bring surprising success stories to both established and dark horse contenders alike. And the differentiator will not be size, but brains, audacity, and innovation.

Advertisers, publishers, and technology companies will, more than ever, seek the best ways to do more with less, and still maintain a competitive advantage. This creates a fertile ground for new ideas, competition and change. And even though interactive advertising is still scheduled to grow, albeit at a slower rate than originally anticipated, the industry, like the economy, demands change. Internet advertising has not brought us any truly 'new' technologies for 10 years – just iterations based upon the original inventions from the '90's that spawned impressions, clicks, and conversions. Accountability will be king, and those expenditures that don't earn their keep, will be evicted.

So, as we wring the old year out, and ring in 2009, let's take a few minutes to ponder what changes we'd most like to see. In fact, we'd love to hear what you think.

– Layne Salter

Don't let the Grinch steal the Holiday season!

Sure, we've been hearing nothing but financial doom and gloom, with many predicting the worst year ever for holiday shopping. But a bad economy is no time for online marketers to roll over and play dead. If anything, it's possible that online shopping could pull a last minute win, save the Season, and ward off the Grinch. But how?

1. All is not lost. Despite the economic downturn, online shopping is expected to increase 10% over last year, with $32 Billion spent online. Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer said, "More than ever, in order to save money on holiday gifts, consumers will turn to the Internet to get gift ideas, find bargains and locate retailers that stock desired products."

And what about those Gen X-ers? Recent studies show that they not only outnumber Baby Boomers now, but exceed them in annual income as well. Not to mention that a whopping 90% of them are online. And due to their unique mixture of education/intelligence and high debt (an oxymoron, I know) they are predicted to be leading the online bargain hunting pack, no doubt buying up all the Wii's for themselves and their kids.

2. Know your audience. Stay as close to core customers as you can. Chad Little from Fetchback says, "Rather than simply focusing on getting another new customer to come to your website, you should work to get the customers who have already visited your site to come back." Here at TruEffect, we are closing the gap between web analytics and targeted marketing, by helping advertisers utilize what they already know about their existing customer segments, and apply it everywhere they buy media online – enabling them to find and communicate directly with them.

3. Use advertising that works
Performance. Accountability. Relevance. These are the watch words of this economic slump. There's no doubt that advertising budgets will suffer, so marketers will want to make the most of what they've got. Ramping up the right online efforts can save money over other channels, as well as provide greater measurability.

4. A picture's worth 1,000 text links?
Recent studies reinforce the importance that online shopping has on offline purchases, particularly when a mixture of Search and Display are used. And yet, McKinsey in its June 2008 Digital Advertising Survey, found that only 30% of marketers even considered the offline impact of online marketing.
Consumers don't shop in a vacuum, but rather ingest visual ads, search online, comparison shop, ask friends, and read blogs. An effective marketing mix shouldn't overlook the basic tenet of advertising - eliciting emotion. What better than the graphical magic of display and rich media?

With the proper mix of advertisers, online shoppers, and online marketing personnel who know their stuff, who knows? Maybe it could be a green (as in moola, not carbon credits) holiday season after all.

– Layne Salter

Stock market woes... internet advertising meets the economic slump

You may be reading this while on hold with your 401K or stock broker. OK, so we may have made a bad joke a few weeks ago about stock brokers jumping out a window. That hasn't happened, thank goodness, but this week's "Black Sunday" is going down in the annals of Wall Street as the worst slump since — well, since the last one. With the Dow down 504 points on Monday, and a similar slide on Wednesday, it's hard to view it is as business as usual, even though broker's and analysts across the country are tirelessly touting the "hang in there" speech.

Interestingly, the views of the advertising community seem myopic at best. AdAge talks about what the impact may be on ad spending in the financial sector, while CNET talks about how Wall Street woes could stifle mergers and acquisitions in the technology sector. Kara Swisher in her "All Things Digital" article titled "Dear Web 2.0 - It's STILL the economy, stupid!" is one of the few to discuss the wider ramifications of a deepening economic crisis, and it's potential impact in the online world.

So, what's a responsible online advertiser to do? It's safe to assume that many will be stuck in that all too familiar scenario of a declining budget with increased performance expectations. For starters, we know more consumers are shopping online, and shopping for deals. Logic would dictate that a successful advertiser would optimize every online engagement point, find and nurture their best customers, and then make ongoing media decisions based upon which buys are actually furthering their business's Key Performance Indicators. But even with all the latest online technologies like engagement mapping and behavioral targeting, does an advertiser actually know if he's got a relationship with the person seeing his online ad? Can he know if that user has already been to his site and purchased a toaster oven? Probably not.

What if the advertiser could tie his internal KPI's to media performance, rather than relying on the old scenario of impressions, clicks and conversions? What if he could actually build a customer relationship with every ad served. Online advertising spend currently represents 8% of all advertising, but the medium enjoys 17% of all viewership. Do you think advertisers would spend more online if the technology could keep up with their needs? We think so, and that's why we're perfecting exactly that kind of technology.

– Layne Salter