NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Direct response pricing
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Direct response pricing
Gary Bolles (gbolles_at_radiomail.net)
22 Aug 97 21:59:02 PDT
Frank Ball at hearst.com wrote:
>"Regarding click through models, I keep wondering why an Internet Publisher
>should risk revenues for an agency's creative and a manufacturer's product
>demand? The purpose of an advertising vehicle, including the Internet, is
>to deliver an audience. After that, it really depends on a variety of
>outside factors such as advertising design, copy, and product offering to
>get the audience to respond, or *Click*. Publishers play no role in these
>decisions, so why should they take responsibility for them? Now, I'm not
>saying that Direct Marketing and Direct Response do not belong on the
>Internet, I just think they should pay a fair price to reach their target
>audience, like everyone else, and leave the responsibility of *response* up
>to their creative and research teams."
I've lurked on this list for a few months now, and just wanted to thank you
all for a substantial number of stimulating ideas. I highly (though
judiciously) recommend this list to readers, since I find the quality of
input to be uniformly high. Kudos to our moderator as well.
As to Frank's input... I see three issues here. The first issue is one of
responsibility. I disagree with Frank on the nature of many online ads. A
passive ad with no associated link is an impression, just as in a print
publication. But anything with a link is an incitement to action. By
accepting advertising with links, the publisher may be accepting an implicit
responsibility.
Perhaps the advertiser only wants an impression, no action required; great,
no implicit responsibility, the publisher just delivers an audience. But if
the advertiser wants "results" - clicks, full page views, file downloads,
inquiries, flamemail, or sales - the publisher has to decide if that
responsibility is acceptable. Don't want it? Don't accept the ad. Need the
revenue? You won't get it if what you think you're delivering and what the
advertiser wants are out of sync.
Second: What if the ad sucks? Is the publisher responsible? Consumer
response is the complex animal of human behavior, and a rotten ad/great site
and great ad/rotten site could generate similar results. I'd say - since
we're in learn mode right now - that the publisher better have a marketing
department (who knows the audience) working with advertisers (who knows the
potential consumer) to determine what results are wanted and how best to get
them. If you're lucky, your site is "the place to be", and media purchase
orders flow in like water; if you're not, you have to work harder, and
justify your existence to the increasingly-discerning appetites of rapidly-
educated marketers.
That brings up number three: Purpose and intent.
The interactive nature of the online world also substantially increases the
marketer's responsibilities. I repeat ad nauseum to my readers: Focus! Know
your goals. As subscribers to this list regularly attest, there are dozens
of potential marketing goals associated with online advertising and PR. One
advertiser may be ecstatic with the exposure a banner ad can bring; another
may only be satisfied if hard sales to come of it. And a single campaign may
have multiple, complex, and potentially conflicting goals, as well. The
beauty of the online world is that it offers the opportunity to test and
hone programs to meet these goals; its pitfalls are the same. Without focus
and goals, it's impossible to any analyze results with meaningful metrics.
Gary A. Bolles
Editorial Director
Inter_at_ctive Enterprises / Ziff-Davis
Columnist
Inter_at_ctive Week
and
_at_media, the newsletter for interactive marketers
gbolles_at_radiomail.net
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