South African companies are starting to look at ways of combining once discrete online marketing tools into integrated strategies as their understanding of the online landscape grows. That's according to Diane Charton, general manager at Acceleration Media.
She says that search campaigns and banner adverts were once seen as separate disciplines that achieved different objectives. But South African marketers are beginning to realise that blending these online marketing elements results in stronger campaigns and more focused messaging.
Search engine marketing is usually based on a pay per click model and uses sponsored search engine listings to drive traffic to a web site. The advertiser bids for search terms, and the search engine ranks ads based on a competitive auction as well as other factors. Search was traditionally regarded as a direct response mechanism.
Web banner ads - the online world's equivalent of traditional display advertising - involve displaying an advertisement on a Web page. Banner advertising used to be seen primarily as a brand-building tool and a means of attracting Web site traffic.
Says Charton: "We're starting to see overlap and synergy between the goals and strengths of banner advertising and search engine marketing. Many companies are seeing definite brand-building benefits from search marketing, while banner advertising is proving to be useful as a direct response mechanism for many marketers."
A DoubleClick Touchpoints survey conducted in 2006 shows that banner advertising drives a range of direct responses. Two-thirds of respondents to the survey said they might visit a physical store to check out a product after viewing a banner ad, 61% said they might visit the advertised web site later rather than clicking on it immediately, and 30% said they would click on the ad.
South African companies are beginning to seize the direct response opportunities that banner advertising offers. For example, an Acceleration Media client in the financial services industry is using banner advertising to drive online applications. The campaign is planned, executed and measured against the online applications received, turning banner advertising into an effective direct response mechanism.
International research shows that marketers are also switching on to the branding benefits of search engine marketing. A 2006 study by E-Marketer found that 62% of respondents listed brand-building as a primary reason for using search marketing, compared to 60% who cited direct online sales and 58% who named lead generation as major reasons for using search.
The real power from search and banner advertising, however, comes from using them together in an integrated manner. Charton points to a Yahoo! study released by comScore Networks in December 2006 that found that campaigns that use both search and display advertising are more engaging and effective than those that used only one of the two elements. Among respondents exposed to both the search and display ads purchases of the advertiser's products and services increased by 244% online and 89% offline compared to online users who were not exposed to these ads.
Concludes Charton: "As our South African clients become comfortable with online marketing, we see them integrating search campaigns into their online strategies. No longer do search engine marketing and banner ads compete with each other - instead they complement each other's strengths and combine to create real value for advertisers."