Dos and don’ts of digital advertising

Saturday September 19, 2009
Dos and don’ts of digital advertising

IT’S no longer about banner or pop-up ads. Digital advertising today is about creating content that is useful and entertaining, says Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide Malaysia managing director Tan Kien Eng.
“Those pop-up advertisements will become a blind spot if not done properly,” he says.
Tan says appointing a communications agency – either a media specialist, public relations firm or creative agency – is helpful as it will have more insight into the segment and customers.
“They will help in content creation and story-telling to achieve impact in communication,” he says, adding that digital advertising is not necessarily a multi-million ringgit kind of investment as it can be simple and straightforward.
He also says the number of visitors to a website is not the most important thing in terms of choosing a medium, as it is all about the quality of the consumers.
“You can have 10 million viewers, but it is useless if less than 1% of them respond to your message. It is not fantastic,” he says.
He advises advertisers to use a smart segmentation strategy by identifying what sort of target they can penetrate.
For example, those who can afford a mobile phone with computer capabilities might be relevant for certain types of services and products due to their high disposable incomes.
“Advertisers have to create interesting and entertaining content to attract these people. It is about creating community, buzz and new information in the digital world,” he says.
Tan says defining the objectives of the digital advertising is helpful in setting one’s direction, strategy and success criteria.
“It is not just uploading something on YouTube, putting your TV commercials online or opening a blog. It is looking at the fundamentals of communications and how interesting it is,” he says.
G2 Direct Interactive general manager Sam Chan says companies should delve deeper into behavioural measurements beyond the impressions and click-through-rates.
“Look at digital as brand-building space rather than a support or promotional medium. Properly planned and ideated digital activity can create a viral effect and build positive brand imagery,” he says.
Chan says digital is still seen as a nice-to-have or an add-on to an existing brand campaign.
“Drop the traditional way of thinking that digital must be done by digital creative teams. It should be an integrated ideation approach, not an adaptation. Idea is still king,” he says.
Chan says brands that strive to be innovative and modern should get into digital advertising but it also depends on their target audience and the relevance of the space to them.
“Brands that cater to a younger audience should market digitally whereas some segments that are on a need basis like online banking, airlines and tour companies should already be heavily switching to digital advertising actively in engaging their customers,” he says.
“Marketers generally think that categories like telco, information technology, travel, mobile, banking, and airlines are a natural fit for the digital space, but in reality, any category can adopt digital depending on the objectives and audience,” he says.
Chan says “digital equals cheaper” is a misconception that should be thrown out the window when planning a campaign.
“Otherwise, we will always short-change our audience,” he says.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/19/business/4726448&sec=business