NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS> How to SELL web advertising
Re: ONLINE-ADS> How to SELL web advertising
Nick Usborne (wilding_at_islandnet.com)
Sat, 28 Mar 1998 10:25:49 -0700
Here, edited somewhat is what we've said so far...
I said:
>>I may be missing the point here, but I wouldn't spend a second looking
>>at things like click-throughs etc. Heck, I don't even know what half the
>>terminology means.
>>
>>I advertise for one purpose only - to make sales.
You said:
>I understand exactly what you're saying, but there is a significant flaw
>in your reasoning, and that is:
>
>"Web site banner ads don't close a sale."
>
>I know - I can hear the collective "gulp" of this entire list as they
>read this, all scampering for their pens, hoping their boss doesn't see
>this message. But it's true. If you place a banner ad on my site, that ad
>is not there to generate sales for you, and no web site owner in his
>right mind could guarantee sales. Why? Because once a user clicks on that
>ad, they are taken away from *my* site, and brought to *yours*. And it is
>*your* web site that closes the sale.
>
You're right, to a point. And the collective 'gulp' is, in my mind, a good
thing. As a medium, on-line advertising is so new, so fast and so
uncharted we should all be 'gulping' ourselves into a collective nervous
breakdown. So how come this forum feels more like afternoon tea than a
rollercoaster ride with half the tracks missing?
Anyway, back to your point on it being the customer web site and not the
banner ad that is responsible for the sale. Yes and no. This brings me to
another 'gulp-worthy' observation:
On-line advertising is so technologically advanced in what it can do, most
people have forgotten to apply the skills that ultimately make it
worthwhile - advertising and marketing skills. My background is in direct
marketing copywriting. Over the last 20 years, every job I have done has
been measured a few weeks later when the results come back. In my business
you're as good as the results you pull - so to survive I have become
acutely aware of what generates response and what doesn't. And most
so-called commercial web sites must be the biggest get-together of really
neat stuff that doesn't sell worth a damn in the history of the universe.
It's a bit like what happened to design and typpography with the advent of
desktop publishing. Everyone had the tools to design ads and choose type
faces. But having the tools doesn't make you a designer.
The web gives every technologically savvy person the tools to put a great
company site up on the web. But having the tools doesn't make you a
marketer or advertising specialist.
In short, in most instances, someone forgot to invite the advertising folks
to the party. In the words of author Douglas Adams, "Humans are unique not
only in their ability to learn from the mistakes of others, but also in
their disinclination to do so."
So does responsibility for the sale lie with the banner ad or the customer
web site? Both, of course. The web site, if it is intended to make sales,
must be conceived, designed and constructed to do exactly that. The banner
ad must be designed to tie in with the sales process on the site. It is
the first step in the sales process and must work to prepare the viewer for
page one of the site.
This is called integration. It's called synergy. It's called common sense
and sales.
Am I beating up on the on-line ad community? Absolutely not! This is a
place I want to be. But I want to do it well.
Best wishes,
Nick Usborne
Nick Usborne
ISIS Direct Ltd
1383 Maple Bay Road
Duncan, B.C. V9L 5R5, Canada
Tel: (250) 746-0046
Fax: (250) 746-7772
email: wilding_at_islandnet.com
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