Interactive Media Education: Value of the View-Through

In the last couple of weeks, I have talked to agencies and clients alike about the value of how Microsoft's Atlas utilizes Engagement Mapping and MediaPlex' MOJO utilizes Path to Conversion. Both products are fantastic, and they help you establish the number of online touch points it takes from start to finish of a conversion cycle (among many other things of course). But when I try and talk to people about it in "plain English", I find myself referencing View-Through Data - which seems to instantly draw a red flag.

For those of you relatively new to the industry, it might not conjure up negative connotations, but for those of you that have been in interactive media for a few years, it probably takes you back to the early days of publishers claiming credit for everything. A great example is when you are running ads on an ad network like Advertising.com that has approx. 90% internet market penetration, and at the same time you are running ads on a search engine. When an ad is displayed by advertising.com, a cookie is instantly set and when the conversion happens, that cookie pings the ad server letting it know a conversion has happened. If the ad was only served, and not clicked on - it is considered a view-through conversion. The problem is, the last click may have occurred on the search engine you were running on, and now your publisher (advertising.com) is taking claim for a conversion and your search engine is taking claim for a conversion - but you only have one conversion. So naturally, the view through got discounted in the past and was instantly labeled a black sheep.

Jumping at least 14 years ahead (FYI - Internet years are the equivalent of dog years), the view through still has a negative connotation, and when I speak to people about it now - they immediate stop me and say "oh no - I'm not paying for view through conversions again!" The reality is - a view through is just another metric that helps me do my job better. If we know that 12 people viewed your ad on Yahoo and eventually converted on a google search term - then we know our ads were targeting the correct people - but the offer just didn't immediately resonate to the "buy" mode. That being said, we have started to compile frequency data through the help of our ad servers that let us know exactly how many view-through's or touch points it takes our clients to convert an offer.

Imagine if you knew that it took your ad being displayed 12 times before someone actually purchased your product or service. You could tweak your messaging and work to get that down to 6 times, and essentially cut your advertising costs in half. Then imagine if you were able to insert an offline ad right after your first touchpoint... Imagine what your media mix could do if it all worked together seamlessly!

So before you cringe when I talk about view-through's... Just know that like everything, the view-through has evolved as well, and its making our job of defining the media mix all that much more enjoyable.

Media Two Interactive joins SEMPO

Media Two Interactive is now a Circle Member of SEMPO... In our never ending quest to stay on top of everything search and how it plays well together in the media mix, we have joined the leading professional Search Engine Marketers organization. Coupled with our IAB membership and search committee participation as well as our corporate certification with Google, Media Two is in the enviable position of being able to help define the search engine industry and how it affects the online and offline marketing universe.

Although this is starting to sound more like a press release than a blog post - I really just wanted to keep everyone in the loop of our continued drive to not only educate but to be educated. Too often people put search in a vacuum and assume nothing else matters - when the reality is, there are online and offline events that happen every day that shape the way people think, and ultimately search. Media Two published a case study about a year or so ago that talked about how display advertising can lift your search conversions by over 20% (go to http://www.mediatwo.net/mediatwo-casestudies.html#/Case%20Studies/ and read the one titled "Increase SEM Results"), and just recently, Microsoft Advertising's Atlas division posted a very similar case study for Alltel.

Search is being looked at in all new lights, and there are more and more opportunities for companies that continue to grow and learn - and I'm proud to say Media Two continues to strive to be a leader in the Interactive Media industry with it's dedication to Search Engine Marketing.

Funnel Your Consumers

A few years ago, I ran into an online buying cycle bullseye in an online newsletter, illustrating the 3 stages that people go through in order to purchase online. The graphic resonated with me and still shapes my thoughts about how every online tactic and strategy should not be pigeon-holed into producing the same goal and results. On the contrary, each type of media placement for an advertiser should be measured and held accountable toward different KPI (Key Performance Indicators) for success.

Similarly, I had the opportunity to work with a "traditional" direct response marketing group, who's main focus was to drive customer acquisition through a conversion funnel, touching the consumer with different pieces of direct response marketing material to the end-goal.

Merging those two ideas together and utilizing them online, I believe is a strategy that can produce long-term success results for some (not all) online advertisers.

Here's an example: The goal of the advertisers is to drive sales. The average consumer buying the average product online goes through a process before actually making the purchase...

1. Information Seeking/Research - What product do I need to accomplish my mission?

Message: Brand messages - get your brand in front of the consumer so they know that you are out there and that YOUR brand exists.

• KPIs - Page Views to your site, time spent on your site learning about the product/brand, interactive/assessment tools, whitepaper downloads, brand lift/awareness, etc.
  
• Media Venues: top-tier sites, general search keywords, ad networks
  

2. Decision Making - Price comparison shopping.... i.e. where can I get my best deal?

Message: Product/Brand Differentiators - WHY you brand is better than the rest, sales, incentives, etc.

• KPIs - signing up for an account, email newsletter signups, etc.
• Media Venues- phrase/exact keywords, niche content sites, consumer review sites, shopping comparison sites

3.Time To Buy - credit card in hand and ready to tackle the shopping cart.

Message: Sales, Incentives, direct response - this is the time to "reel in the fishing line"

• KPIs - sales, leads, whatever your established ROI goal is for your online marketing
  
• Media Venues- product keywords, phrase/exact keywords, CPA networks, affiliate marketing.

The theory behind the conversion funnel is to start at the beginning of the process and establish your brand into the mind of consumer, so that by the time they are at the stage to perform your marketing goal, there is no question that your company will be the one they choose. Along the way, each stage is measured and optimized for success, using the KPI metrics.

Continually pushing people into the top of your funnel will build your marketing program and establish long-term success. The obstacle - having the patience to see it grow.