Internet advertising: are we finally getting it?

The Ads Evolution

We usually complain about having to sit through a 15 seconds commercial before watching a YouTube video. Even worse, not being able to hit the “skip button”. Oh the humanity! But do you remember back in the late 90s those annoying pop ups with neon green and yellow flashing messages? Remember how opening a website was a call not for one of these pop ups but for many?

 Yes, we have come a long way in terms of how we reach consumers. Thankfully some marketers are realizing that online ads should not be about forcing you to see something but rather making you want to see more of something. To me, that is a successful campaign, which makes you want more or makes you participate somehow. My favorite example of this was the BMW Madonna commercial. 

What makes this campaign so successful in my eyes is that it positions the BMW brand while generating a buzz. This ad is not supposed to get people saying “I have to go and buy a BMW now” but rather it talks to users in their mid 20s who dream of owning a luxurious car in the future and position BMW as the brand for the hip and wealthy.  It’s fun, it’s fast, and it’s bold.

Let the Content be a Mirror

What’s really important when developing online ads, or any ads for that matter, is to make sure the campaign taps into the target market emotional self. Let the user see part of their personality in the ad. This is perhaps the reason for the success of the BMW films. Who hasn’t dreamed of being able to drive a car in such way; let alone a BMW.

Another company that understood this before Internet advertising was a big thing is NIKE. They created commercials like “freestyle Basketball” that not only projected what the average player dreamed of doing but also incorporated things like clothing, music, and humour of that the target market could identify as their own. 

 

What’s next for online advertising?

Not every brand is BMW and not every brand could use the same appeal. However, there are few lessons that we as marketers should take away from this.

1-    Embrace creativity. If the content is good people will watch it. Now, good is hard to define because it could be a 9-minute short action film, or it could be 3 minutes of Gagnam Style. Regardless, creative content will be recognized by users and it will spread.

2-    Don’t bombard the user, if the content is good the users will find its way to watch it over and over again. The main reason pop-ups failed is because they invaded the user’s personal, albeit digital, space.

3-    Make the message and the tone match your brand and what you want to achieve in terms of positioning. This is no secret for marketers but somehow when it comes to online marketing, this is somehow lost.

4-    Encourage participation. Users love to express their voice more than ever so why not capitalize on that to create a buzz? The pinnacle of this are user generated content campaigns like the ones Doritos run for the super bowl.

5-    Never, EVER, forget about the metrics. Perhaps the greatest feature of online advertising is the quickness with which marketers can get feedback on the success of the campaigns. So, always keep looking for those metrics and make the necessary adjustments.

Social Media & Marketing: Honesty is still the best policy

A new landscape

We all hear about it to the point that is has become cliché but we are indeed in a different world. We don’t have to look far beyond to the pre-internet times (should we call it the “neo dark ages”?) to see the change. Picture yourself 10 years ago and imagine someone telling you that Windows MSN would be extinct in few years. Yes, I would have laughed at that statement too. But it’s true, new social media platform have developed and new more will appear in the coming years while others that were once popular are lost and forgotten.  

Companies now have to invest human resources, capital, and time in order to sustain their online presence. It’s not just a matter of PR, your online presence will define your brand, your management, your positioning, how customers interact with you and more.  A small mistake can spread on the net and be magnified in a matter of seconds. It happens all the time in sports. Somebody says something wrong and it’s only seconds before the media picks it up.  

Take it seriously

The eyes of the world are no longer focused on the television set but rather on their mobile device screens. That’s the way people find out more about a company these days. It is important for companies to manage their online presence as carefully as they manage their PR and other communication areas. Failure to manage a company’s online presence means failure to engage in the active conversation that goes on every day with consumers via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and others. 

Keep it honest, keep it polite

Marketing is almost a dirty word at times. People associate it with deceit, trickery and false hopes. While I don’t necessarily agree with this notion, it is easy to see how the field gets such a bad reputation. Companies exploiting their customers’ information without permission, pretending to be regular consumers when providing positive reviews of their own products, or companies trying to use their customers as a mean to an end are nothing but providing the guidelines for future case studies on bad business practices. 

It is harder than ever to hide anything from the public and with the public having a stronger and louder voice than ever the consequences can be devastating. Honesty is still the best policy. If your company wants to use its customers’ information tell them what is it for, how would that benefit them, and more importantly, let them know that it is possible to opt-out. What’s better, to miss having customer information or missing a customer who’s now buying from the competition?

In the end, it is still a game a trust and I believe that as a rule of thumbs customers should be treated with respect and integrity no matter whether they are in front of you, on the phone, or on a computer screen. Honesty and respect are good business.