Last Click

I applaud Abbey Klaassen and other digital columnists for continuing to push marketers to think beyond the last click. This notion isn't really NEW news-- we've seen digital advertising analytic companies jump on this for at least a year. However, one thing I seem to be seeing over and over again is that cetain web site analytic companies (Google Analytics namely), seem to hold near and dear to the "There is one true click" mentality/reporting.

As much as we'd like for digital to either branding or DR, it becomes clearer and clearer to me that digital advertising still holds many of the principles of traditional advertising. While this medium is certainly more complex as you're likely leading them down a more defined path, its not always best to define the medium solely by the measurement tools that aren't always perfect.

TG Madison has found that it's best to use a mix of advertising and site analytic tools to help look at the campaign from at least two perspectives. Additionally, it's helpful to use branding surveys to see what impact the digital campaign had even if it didn't drive an immediate action.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me.

What Are You Doing Online?

Media Post published the Fall 2008 top online activities as reported through MRI.

Some things of note BESIDES their callout to the rise in video watching/downloading:

• Not so suprisingly, a rise in those seeking jobs online. Additionally, recipe sites also saw a strong lift.


• Blog visitation continues to rise-- honestly, this 11% of pop stat worries me. I'm not sure everyone knows they're going to a blog. Sure, the # isn't off by much, but I do think it's a bit soft.


• 20.5% made personal/business travel plans (up slightly)


• 19.9% of consumers obtained medical information online (again up slightly). This is a great stat to look at as most other studies ask if someone gathered health information (@ 80% of the online population does this activity), which can cover anything from dieting to researching heart disease.

2009 CPCs Up and CPMs Flat

Happy New Year!

Let's start the year off by talking forecasts... Media Post published an article today that discusses digital spending forecasts for 2009.

Overall several media are feeling the downturn in the economy, but various interactive spend forecasts still say 2009 will remain relatively strong. This is no surprise given digital's accountability and ability to segment out the optimum audience. The medium has become even more attractive given the current climate and as a result some dollars are shifting from non-digital media to digital.

This means that where other media are able to cut deals, it is a bit of a different story when it comes to an online buy.

• Search will remain the strongest due to its ability to capture those seeking to find your product (higher demand = higher bidding).
• Display will likely see some shrinkage in demand but CPMs will remain somewhat flat.

That being said search, "which captures the lowest hanging fruit," still needs promotional media to help increase search enquiries. As such, TG Madison recommends a targeted mix of display, WOM and search tactics for many of it's clients.

So what does this mean immediately for 2009?

• Bid based campaigns will need to be monitored more closely to ensure that spend levels are adequate for the desired visibility.
• Online commitments will need to begin earlier than in previous years as inventory in certain, high profile, highly relevant areas may become tighter more quickly.
• Consumers will need to clearly see the difference between your offering and your competitors as its likely that your ads may run side-by-side (i.e. - Search).

Get ready for an interesting year, guys! Its going to be a bumpy ride!