Re: CPA vs. CPM the issue?

From: Ivan Weltman <ivan_at_tudogs.com>
Date: Wed 18 Jul 2001 11:48:10 -0500

ROB FRANKEL <rob_at_robfrankel.com> REPLIED:

>Yeah, but the only clicking you hear is my defining
>branding again....Banners don't brand anything. They
>may help raise awareness for a brand, but that's
>advertising, not branding.

TO WHICH IVAN WELTMAN <ivan_at_tudogs.com> REPLIED:

>Not true. Herewith some facts:
>1. 70 years of research show a direct relation between
>awareness and sales. 2. If one is aware of an entity one
>must have an attitude towards it. There are three elements
>of attitude: Cognitive (rational belief), affective
>(emotional feeling), and conative (action tendency). A
>psychological phenomenon known as homeostasis keeps the
>three in balance. So, if a banner simply makes people feel
>good about a brand, the rational belief and action tendency
>(buy!) towards the brand will improve. That's branding, and
>today the humble banner is probably the lowest cost
>branding tool available.

TO WHICH ROB FRANKEL ALSO REPLIED:

>Um, no. That's awareness. And brands need awareness, for
>sure. But awareness does not make a brand. The brand is
>the brand. Awareness is awareness. Although this may seem
>to be a hair-splitting distinction, I assure you, it's among
>the top mistakes that cost businesses billions of bucks
>every year in real dollars and lost productivity.

Sorry to say, Rob, but you are splitting hairs, and
unsupported claims of what costs businesses billions of
bucks don't help your cause. This is not the forum for a
debate on branding, but your statement that banners don't
brand anything simply cannot go unchallenged, because you
are dead wrong. In some ways the banner may be compared to
the billboard. An image and a headline, that conventional
wisdom says should be no more than seven words. Yet the
billboard can be an integral part of a branding campaign,
as can the banner, particularly if used to reinforce a
positioning. Just think of the brands and images evoked
over the years by a few words:

Guiness is good for you.
Where's the beef?
Don't forget the fruit gums Mum.
Try it, you'll like it.
We are driven.
99 and 99/100 percent pure.
Sssss... You know Who.
We try harder.

The wide reach and high frequency opportunities offered
by online banners, at low cost, should make an online
banner program an important element in many media
strategies, particularly for brand maintenance. Let's
not sell the banner short.

Ivan Weltman
http://www.tudogs.com



Received on Wed Jul 18 2001 - 11:48:10 CDT