NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Industry duck and cover
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Industry duck and cover
Bob Serling (bserling_at_cts.com)
Thu, 24 Sep 1998 14:55:34 -0500 (CDT)
Brad Byrd wrote:
> Come on folks, what's the deal? I get the feeling that ad
> agencies are just avoiding this issue altogether because its
> "too touchy" (ie. media buyers and content providers don't
> get a guaranteed commission up front). But face the facts
> -- advertisers *want* this model. I'm still convinced it
> can work, and think that if someone is creative and builds a
> tenable solution they'll have access to advertiser dollars
> that CPM sites can't get...
As a marketing consultant, I've observed this problem for
close to two decades. There are two forces that come into
play in this situation. First, traditional models have
always been based on CPM calculations. And why not - the
media owner has no risk whatsoever. Just cash the check, run
the ad, and buyer beware. Regardless of the results you
produce, the media owner gets paid and the agency takes it
commission. Worse, because of this conflict of interest,
agencies encourage clients to buy more space, impressions,
TV time, etc than is really needed.
But, the other side of the issue is equally important. From
the media owner's standpoint, why should they accept payment
for action? After all, they have no control over your
creative. It may be so poor that nothing would budge a
prospect to take action. So the question becomes: what
guarantee does the media have that the advertiser will
deliver a campaign that produces the desired action?
Perhaps a potential solution would be a reasonable flat rate
plus an agreed upon fee per action. That way, both sides
would have an equal investment in their mutual success.
As an interesting aside, I'm always willing to work with a
client for a reduced fee plus a percentage of sales. This
would seem to be the fairest terms for both parties. I'm not
going to spend their money frivolously with bloated media
purchases, because we both share in the savings. But most
clients are trained in the traditional models of flat rates
per project and can't see beyond that model. It's
interesting that on the other side, they would now request
that the media share the risk.
Also, the statement that measuring ROI is difficult and you
should only expect to use the web for branding is completely
erroneous. Again, as a consultant, my job is to see beyond
the limitations clients set up for themselves. This one is
easy. Let's say P&G has a wonderful product Screaming Blue
Twinklethorps they want to promote. Run a contest with a
banner that says, "Win An All Expense Paid Trip To Hawaii -
Rename Our Product".
When the prospect clicks through, the copy is something
like: "As much as people love the results they get with
SBT, everyone hates the name! What would you change it to?
Send your suggestions to SBT_at_P&G.com. The best name and the
worst name will both win an all expense paid trip to Hawaii
plus $2000 spending cash". Also, offer the prospect the
opportunity to enter their email address and click a button
that will send them a coupon for 50 cents off on SBT whether
they enter a naming suggestion or not. It's that simple to
make any campaign, for any product, in any media completely
measurable.
Bob Serling, President
Stratford Marketing Group, Inc.
bob_at_bobserling.com
Publisher of Reverse Marketing Hotline, free subscription at
http://www.bobserling.com/subscription/index.html
========================================================================
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's Online Advertising Discussion List sponsors:
AdKnowledge, The Mining Co. and ValueClick
7 out of 15 top agencies know that AdKnowledge improves web advertising
effectiveness. What are YOU waiting for? AdKnowledge. We make web
advertising work. http://ads01.adknowledge.com/SmartBanner/page/9751.2
---
QUESTION: What has 5,000 fingers and has grown 44% since April? It's been
called "a Yahoo! on steroids," and it's spreading fast across the web.
ANSWER: The 500 Expert Guides at http://MiningCo.com
---
ValueClick can guarantee you instant revenue on 100% of your ad space
For non-exclusive, flexible solutions that work w/ existing CPM sales,
contact us today: ValueClick http://www.valueclick.com/members.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
========================================================================
Online Advertising Discussion List To Unsubscribe send UNSUBSCRIBE
http://www.o-a.com/ to online-ads-request_at_o-a.com
