NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> advertising on free e-mail sites
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> advertising on free e-mail sites
Kristin Zhivago (kristin_at_zhivago.com)
Wed, 13 May 1998 17:02:43 -0400
Dear All:
Must come out of lurking to comment on an assertion put forth here, to wit:
Hairong Li <hairong_at_pilot.msu.edu> wrote:
>Large, animated banner ads could catch the viewer's
>attention and create awareness but may not be sufficient to
>trigger a click. However, incentives (free gifts, deep
>discount, etc.) and other appeals (curiosity, fear, guilt,
>etc.) could make a banner ad more interesting to the viewer
>and thus result in more clicks.
With all due respect, 30 years of high-tech marketing has taught me one
thing: no matter what medium you're using, the most profitable "click
triggers" are not any of the items mentioned here. There is only one "click
trigger" that leads to profits, and it is this: a promise to solve a real
problem or meet a real need. No amount of animation, free gifts, sexual
come-ons, etc. work as well as simply promising to solve a problem that a
potential customer is having. Please note that Microsoft, for example, a
company with enough money to run the most whiz-bang ads imaginable, now
uses very straightforward customer-focused messages. Bill saw the light,
and has been harping on "what the customer needs" for the last few years,
about the time he married a marketer from Microsoft. (Coincidence? Maybe.)
There is no substitute for figuring out what potential customers are
struggling with (hint: call them and ask them!), then figuring out how you
can solve that problem using your product, processes, and people. Then you
formulate your promise--your message(s)--from the customer's point of view.
(We call this creating your Rant.)
This is the only place profits come from. Anything else is, please pardon
my crudity, marketing masturbation. The Web has simply given people another
place to engage in this ego-satisfying but unprofitable pastime.
Kristin Zhivago
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kristin Zhivago kristin_at_zhivago.com
Editor, Marketing Technology
Columnist, Marketing Computers
Partner, Zhivago Marketing Partners
tel 401-423-2400 fax 401-423-2700
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
http://www.marketing-technology.com
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