The 543 Group

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Recent research by Alterian indicates that direct marketers, across the board, are planning big increases in their use of e-mail (82%), personalized landing pages (47%), banner advertising (46%), web surveys (42%), microsites (35%), SMS (27%), and RSS feeds (26%).  However, the same research indicates that many of the companies planning such increases are doing so with little or no analysis of results.

It's one thing to track and measure the impact of online marketing investments; it's very nature makes that easy.  However, digging deeper to understand why the results were what they were, and what steps may be taken to improve future results, is just as important.  Even more important is modeling desired results during the strategic planning phase of the campaign.  Knowing exactly what should happen, and how it will occur, and then tracking and analyzing to see how close the predictive models were to reality is smart online marketing.  It's truly managing investments wisely and ensuring future campaigns provide even better ROI.

Customer surveys can help in this regard, as can target audience insight research on needs, attitudes, and behaviors to really understand what content, functionality, and offers will be the most motivating.  Also important is strategic planning to ensure any online campaign is fully integrated with offline marketing initiatives, as success of the entire marketing initiative often depends on the proper execution of each component. 

Our motto has always been to do the job right the first time, because the results will matter, and you may not get a second chance.

Showcasing Assets

The 30-second TV spot may not rule the world of marketing anymore, but a large compelling first impression on a Website still has considerable value.  The folks at Exclusive Resorts leverage high-resolution video, rich photography, and even a familiar song to immediately engage visitors in their vacation properties.

Exclusive Resorts

While keeping navigation clean, unobtrusive, and to a minimum, they allow a large 'showcase' area of the site to be dedicated to the featured content that will be the most appealing and inviting for visitors.  The cost of belonging to this club may not be as inviting, but the site engages visitors long before they get to that information.

Playing Small Ball

"You can't just buy people's attention anymore.  You must engage them."

This is the word from BBDO New York CEO Andrew Robertson in a recent article updating the activities of David Lubars, their Creative Director.  I couldn't agree more, and it is why I enjoy interactive media so much.

It's very name - "interactive" - tells it all.  It is not passive.  It assumes the visitor is engaged in some sort of behavior, be it for education, commerce, or just communicating with friends or colleagues or family.  For corporate marketing, the traditional thinking that the 30-second TV spot is king is so outdated that I have never even considered it so in my almost 30 years in this business.

It has, and always will be, the touchpoints that matter.  Whether that is a banner ad you clicked through, a YouTube video you forwarded, a customer service encounter, a buzz event you experience on the street, or any other form of message communicated from company to customer, it is how it touches you on an emotional level that matters.  What is important is not how cool or clever or even entertaining it is, but how well it motivated you to spend more time with the brand or, more importantly, how well it compelled you to part with some of your hard earned money, or your company's money.  And how quickly.  That is what has always mattered.

And one of the best attributes of interactive media is that its impact is all measurable.  There is no guesswork or interpretation of impression value needed.  Results are finite, and can be available in real time.  What's not to like when you need to know true ROI? 

It used to be that online and interactive marketing should be a component of any strategic marketing plan.  The larger long-established agencies call it 'playing small ball' because of the relative production budgets and lower commissions. It's actually a big-league game, with serious stakes and opportunity for winning streaks for those who get it and do it right, leveraging the knowledge of those who have been in the 'league' a long time.