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Advertising is a medium that constantly evolves. It changes with the times. It
adapts to new technologies. It is unrelenting in its desire to find new and
better ways to reach an ever-growing consumer marketplace.
But its not simply advertising that evolves. Consumers and consumer behavior are
changing too. As we look at the future of advertising, it's important to look at
how the two interact and change together over time.
Without a doubt, the Internet has revolutionized the industry. It has taken the
world - and the advertising world by storm. And it has only just begun to make
an impact. The Internet has become a global medium with massive potential. Forty
years ago, television was considered new media. Fifteen years ago, it was cable.
Today, people spend increasing amounts of time online at the expense of other
media. The first evidence of this audience migration appeared in 1998 in a
Forrester Research report.
The researchers asked PC users which activities they were giving up to spend
more time on their computers. 75% of the respondents said they gave up
television.
Interactive. That is the real key behind the power of the Internet in
advertising. The Internet is really the only medium where we see true
interactivity. In addition:
• It means greater viewer involvement.
• It means users can access services according to their interests and their
tastes.
• They can request and receive specialized product information, make an instant
purchase, all the while saving time and expense.
• The effectiveness of Web advertising appears to relate to the fact that
surfing the web is an actively engaging experience, similar to reading
magazines.
Consumers also have the choice to "opt-in" to receiving additional information
on a particular product or service. In Seth Godin's groundbreaking book,
Permission Marketing, he said, "By reaching out only to those individuals who
have signaled an interest in learning more about a product, Permission Marketing
enables companies to develop long-term relationships with customers, create
trust, build brand awareness- and greatly improve the chances of making a sale."
All the Rage: Pay Per Click and Natural Search Using SEO
It's no secret what has taken over the business world, in industry after
industry. Pay Per Click and Natural Search Using Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Today, being on the first page for your most popular keyword phrase is like
having the most memorable prime time television commercial in 1973.
Pay per click advertising on search engines allows you to choose keywords you
would like your site to appear under when a potential customer engages in a
search. You decide how much you are willing to pay each time a person clicks on
the search results. But it can be competitive – and expensive if you are trying
to use keywords that are very popular.
Natural Search or Organic Search is the non-biased, non-paid results that come
up when you do a search. This can be influenced heavily by what's called "Search
Engine Optimization" – the complex and time consuming practice of ensuring that
your website is doing all the right things in order to rank high for certain
search terms. In this arena, smaller companies can out maneuver large
corporations, so there's a lot of excitement generated because of this.
Essentially, that's where the power of advertising is going. It's all about
Search. And Search is only going to become more important over the next ten
years. If you can get on that coveted first page organically, well then, more
power to you!
Web Sites, Banner Ads, etc..
The other forms of on-line advertising vehicles are of course, web sites, banner
advertising placed on others sites, newsletters, ezines, and email. They are
used in many different combinations, for different purposes at different times.
But most savvy companies are using all of them. The value of banner ads has been
hotly debated for a number of years. Opponents argue that the click-through
rates have gone down so much, that banner ads are nothing but wasted money. But
research clearly shows that banners are very effective in building brand
awareness. On-line users may not click on a banner, but if they see it enough
times, the company's name is drilled into their head. When its time to shop,
that product or service is first in their mind. Simply being exposed to the
brand as one surf's the web is enough to make a big impression.
The impact of banners on brand awareness was tested for the first time in fall
1996 by Millward Brown International. Three brands were tested including a men's
apparel brand, a telecommunications brand and a technology company. The findings
were significant and conclusive for each brand. Awareness was significantly
greater among the banner-exposed (test) group than the non-exposed (control)
group. Specifically, exposure to the ad banners alone increased brand awareness
from 12% to 200% in a banner-exposed group.
The study also compared the impact of the banner ads in this test to television
and magazine norms from prior Millward Brown studies. The findings were
remarkable: Single exposure to a Web banner generated greater awareness than a
single exposure to a television or print ad. Rather, the effectiveness of Web
advertising seems to stem from the fact that Web usage is an actively engaging
exercise.
Newsletters and Ezines
Most smart marketers out there have either a newsletter or ezine nowadays. These
types of customer communication and advertising tools will only continue to grow
in use and importance. It goes back to the whole "what's in it for me?" issue.
The customer wants to be part of the process. They want to learn something. Or
keep themselves updated on the latest news. Most of all, they want to get
something out of the relationship. They want to do more than buy something, they
want to improve their lives in some small way – and they want you to help them
do that.
Email Advertising
Email is another of the big three Internet advertising mediums. Companies like
Got Marketing,
OptinBig.com,
and N5R are providing new and exciting email marketing solutions for thousands
of progressive firms. Their results are impressive. Consider response rates that
average 10 to 20 times those of traditional direct mail. Or campaign Network
marketing referral rates as high as 40%. The bottom line is that programs they
put together have produced millions of leads for clients. And it's surprisingly
affordable. This means that almost anyone can now utilize this advertising
medium. But it has to be done smartly, because you don't want your emails to end
up in spam filters. That is one inherent problem with email advertising,
especially in the past two years.
N5R in particular is now one of the leading direct marketing agencies in North
America. They develop innovative one-to-one marketing campaigns that drive a
measurable, positive ROI on behalf of their clients by driving acquisition and
conversion to trial and purchase for their clients. They have developed
award-winning strategies in five major industry sectors. These include Internet
Marketing and Online Contests/Promotions, Permission Based Email Marketing, Text
Messaging, Success Based Email.
In Internet Marketing and Online Contests/Promotions, marketers can gather and
compile behavior and preference data from prospects and customers and use this
information to send targeted and relevant information. Developing ongoing
programs of one-to-one communication is cost effective and measurable. Contests
are the quickest and most effective way to gather this data and build
relationships with customers. It's very possible to build a permission-based
database of over 50,000 prospects in only 6 weeks, increase web site traffic by
900%, improved online sales revenue by 1,000%, and achieve $40 million in sales
from leads generated by an online promotion.
With Permission Based Email Marketing, loyal clients are just an e-mail away.
Where traditional marketing campaigns fail, e-mail can shine through. E-mail
marketing allows companies to speak one-to-one with their audience in a
respectful, intelligent and creative way. It is extremely cost-effective,
provides the foundation for future marketing initiatives, and delivers
measurable results.
Text Messaging or SMS (Short Message Service) is a technology that allows people
to send and receive short (up to 160 characters) written messages on cellular
phones. It is already hugely popular in Europe and Asia and is growing rapidly
in North America. SMS marketing offers the following benefits:
One-to-one communication with your target group, anywhere, anytime reach, low
campaign cost, and very measurable data. Imagine if your mobile phone received
an email message, "You're only a block from a Starbuck's; stop in for a 20%
discount on your latte." The data is available and marketers are starting to tap
into these resources.
Success Based Email is free email deployment where companies only pay for
results. This "pay-per-click" approach is based on the premise that companies
will only pay for each email that receives a "click-through" from the recipient.
Not only does the new approach enhance the value of marketing dollars spent on
such campaigns, the move will likely trim total dollars spent.
For example if 100,000 emails are sent, 70% are opened and 15% of the recipients
actually click on a link in the email then clients will only be charged for the
15,000 people that clicked on the link, not for the other 85,000 that didn't.
The return on investment (ROI) or cost savings inherent in this new approach
will be very appealing to permission-based marketers. The bottom line is that
marketers will now pay for real, measurable results.
The Next Step
Compared with other media, the Web is still limited in its bandwidth offerings.
But it's getting better every day. With the continued improvement of bandwidth
development, we will soon be positioned well to create full-featured multimedia
advertising on the Internet. Once a majority of consumers have DSL capability
and the computer power to access it, there will be some incredible things
happening. Sites like
tvtonic.com
are already offering some very compelling visual and audio imagery in the form
of movie trailers and music videos.
Market researchers, futurists and industry experts predict that interactivity
through multiple technologies and devices will change how consumers interact
with marketers. Interactive advertising will soon be everywhere. So, in effect,
it could be considered the age of mass customization in advertising. Advertisers
will have the tools to narrow their targets and address Web ads to individuals
and not to a demographic or psychographic group. Why market a commercial to 1
million people, most of who aren't in the target audience, when the same ad
could be shown to 10,000 people who are very interested in the product or
service? Most of those will even give their name and address.
Interactivity will also be a part of television. Interactive TV will be the norm
in the near future, and this too is another exciting opportunity. There will be
total integration between TV channels and advertisers web sites. While we are
watching TV, we will be able to interact with what we are seeing, ordering
hamburgers from the McDonalds down the street or communicating with the local
car dealer that we are interested in buying a car. Clicking on products we see
in TV shows and ordering them will be easy. Your TV will keep track of what you
are watching. Your TV will even know what kind of car you own because you'll
tell for the free oil change you're offered in exchange. The oil change will be
compliments of DirecTV, and it is only good at Jiffy Lube, which has paid to be
the official oil-change provider for DirecTV." That's the way it will work.
Service Initiative Advertising
Another major trend is what I call "Service Initiative Advertising". Let's face
it; consumers are tired of advertising as usual. Many people say they hate
commercials. The success of Tivo and satellite radio can attest to this. They
want more from their advertising. And who could blame them? People are inundated
with advertising today- every where they go. Service Initiative Advertising
takes the whole process one step further. Essentially how it works is that it
requires advertising to offer some value to the consumer.
For example: Kraft Foods creates a website that offers busy mothers a source for
quick recipes for the family evening meal. The idea isn't to push Kraft
products, but to promote Kraft as a brand that offers a service to customers.
There have been companies who positioned their entire marketing strategy on this
tenant. Now, it will become a key part of advertising for almost everyone. The
consumer wants to know you care.
It's important to realize that advertising mediums of the past will still be
here. But, they may look a little different in the future. Direct mail will
always be around as long as people like to receive mail. And despite external
challenges, the U.S. Postal service will still be around. TV and radio will be
here too.
But the future is here. And advertising will never be the same.
One thing that is certain is that it will continue to be as exciting and dynamic
as it has been in the past. But now, the consumer is a part of the process.
Copyright © 2005 Jon Wuebben
About Jon: Jon Wuebben is a professional Website Copywriter, SEO Copywriter and
Advertising Copywriter with 10 years experience in B2B & B2C copywriting and
marketing. He has provided copy for a number of organizations including Ford
Motor Company, Kia Motors America, Harmon Kardon, JBL, Infinity, Advertising
Agencies, small and medium sized businesses and pro bono for a variety of
non-profit groups. He can be reached at (909) 437-7015, or online at
http://www.CustomCopywriting.com for any copywriting project you may have or
if you would like more articles or a Complimentary Website Copy analysis. Need a
custom newsletter or e-zine article written? Call Jon Today at (909) 437-7015 or
email jon@customcopywriting.com
for a professional Website Copywriter, SEO Copywriter, or Advertising
Copywriter.
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