I was sitting in on a business call a few days ago, when suddenly a voice on the other end of the line said “Every dollar in online advertising spent, is a dollar wasted.” I gasped—thank heavens my line was on mute. Not only is my livelihood currently dependent on online advertising, but I really disagree with this statement. While tracking the success of online conversations is evolving with the landscape of the Internet, an online presence is still essential to the overall success of an integrated marketing campaign.
According to FastCompany in the past two years, the total number of Internet users who click on display ads has declined by half with only 16% interacting with display ads from Q3 2007. Of those clicks, 85% are attributed to a mere 8% of users (described generally as young, lower income adults). With that knowledge, is display click through rate even relevant? My response is yes, when ads are targeted to their audiences.
For example, AutoTrader.com, an online marketplace for buying selling three million new and used cars to an audience of over 14 million qualified consumers monthly from a network of 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners, serves ads that are specific to the auto industry. Visiting the site today, I see ads for Toyota, Lexus, Cadillac, and Valvoline, to name a few of the visible brands.
According to a comScore study, “consumers who are exposed to display ads are 65% more likely to visit a brand’s site than those who aren’t exposed to the ad,” and “nearly twice as likely to make a purchase from the site advertised” when “exposed to both display and search ads.” In the AutoTrader.com example, it is worth the advertising expense of brands like Toyota, Lexus, Cadillac, and Valvoline to create an online presence on AutoTrader.com because that’s where qualified consumers are looking to research and potentially purchase a new vehicle.
By not advertising in relevant online markets, I think that brands are forfeiting an opportunity to be visible to its target market. The click through rate might not be the most transparent method of measuring an ad’s success due to its inability to sort out accidental clicks or gauge overall message exposure. Innovations in tracking and visibility are out there—rich media display ads functionality and contextual advertising to name a few ways to directly target consumers and track their overall interaction with ads. I think that display ads work if advertisers are strategic in their media buys, and continue to consider online advertising as a successful component of a fully integrated advertising campaign.
References
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/clay-dillow/culture-buffet/click-through-rate-still-relevant-valuing-web-ads
http://autotrader.com
About Me
- eckramer
- Growing up in Atlanta, GA, I moved to New Orleans, LA to achieve my BBA in Marketing and Management from Loyola University New Orleans. After being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, I spent a semester at Georgia State University, but was able to return to New Orleans to achieve my degree. Following graduation, I returned to Atlanta to pursue a coveted career in advertising. Currently, I am working as an assistant traffic manager at a prestigious advertising agency. I am a self-motivated, organized, detail-oriented, advertising professional with a strong sense of project ownership and proactive approach to issue resolution. Although my background has been primarily focused on online media, I have the ambition to learn and master new technologies, processes, departments, and other innovative facets of the advertising industry including broadcast and print production, public relations, communications, and strategy. I interact with a variety of people, personalities, and overcome unique challenges on a daily basis in a highly-dynamic environment under strict deadlines. I am always looking to increase success for myself, my agency, and our clients.