by Felicitas Ritter | Feb 19, 2014 | Advertising, Latest
So we put all this effort into creating the most informative and watchable online ads in the market, but is anyone paying attention? According to the Goo Online Advertising Survey conducted in January 2014 the answer is… not really. Unless they are especially entertaining.
The survey focused on 2000 U.S. households of users over 18 years of age. While there was a certain amount of inattention to ads across the board, with an average of 36 percent uninterested in either TV, radio or newspaper commercials, online advertising fared the worst by far, with 82 percent of users ignoring them.
One of the biggest problems with online ads is the sheer volume.
Viewers are so inundated that they feel compelled to just scan quickly past. Gone are the days of novelty and glitzy flash animations, intrusive sounds and pop up online ads that garnered healthy click-through results. Online ads came on the advertising scene as an accountable and measurable media. Now, it has gone the way of selling its channel like all traditional media, speaking to impressions and not real traffic building results.
So what can we do to attract more attention to online ads that would ensure to some degree, the same results as seen in the past? Be more entertaining? Works for all other medias, so why not this digital media that has grown exponentially? Using more interesting graphics to draw viewers in is also a must. Telling a story in short succinct visuals that are quick to load isn’t easy, but it is definitely doable. The research cited showed that 42 percent of respondents suggested that interactive online ads were the most engaging. The reasons provided for this preference was that these online ads didn’t really look like ads, were more interesting, and more high-tech looking.
With all the excitement over the Olympics on now, I couldn’t resist clicking on a few online ads that featured our amazing Canadian athletes. Here are a couple of my favourites:
by Felicitas Ritter | Feb 4, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
For any business, having an integrated marketing plan really is the best way to optimize communications efforts. Without this, you could be missing out on great opportunities to reach your target audiences. Relying only upon traditional advertising outlets like radio, TV or newspaper to generate all the buzz you need, just isn’t as effective a strategy as it once was. In particular, if you have a smaller business, you might even want to skip these costly budget-busting vehicles for a while, depending on your market. Even when it comes to marketing for larger corporations, throwing everything into a splashy ad campaign is not generally the best practice. A more strategic approach is to examine all the marketing tools at hand, and take into account all the ways they might help you reach consumers.
If you are not yet working with social media, this is something that really does need to be incorporated into the mix.
As of December 2013, according to the Pew Research Center, 73% of online adults engage in social networking. Additionally, 42% are utilizing multiple platforms. If you aren’t leveraging Facebook and Twitter, at the very least, you are likely missing out on reaching a significant portion of your target audience. For niche markets, YouTube is another fantastic platform to reach very specific types of consumers.
Other considerations have to include direct marketing campaigns or promotions for consumer contests or giveaways, sponsorship opportunities, such as with local sports teams, and special events to launch new products. All are great ways to effectively get your brand out there.
Something many companies seem to take for granted are the impressions received through public relations. Having the opportunity to showcase products for free on local television programs or in specialty publications, or for the company spokesperson to be positioned as an opinion leader can be invaluable to future business successes.
The ingenuity of your campaign is only limited by the imaginations of your marketing and creative teams. And its effectiveness is not always a matter of budget, but rather of good planning and the ability to utilize a wide range of integrated marketing services that work synergistically together.
by Belinda Lui | Jan 31, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
The ongoing debate on what the differences are between B2B and B2C can be endless. Here at 3H Communications, we believe that, fundamentally, there is no difference. Whether you’re marketing a product or service to a business or consumer, the questions are the same — it’s the answers that are different. We still receive each project and analyze their objectives and goals, and create accordingly.
Regardless of whether your business operates B2B or B2C, these are the questions you need to ask:
Objectives What are they? Is it to maximize your profits by a certain percentage? To acquire a certain amount of new customers or clients by a certain time? To acquire more of the market share in your industry? Build a stronger community online for your brand? Target Market Who are you trying to target with your product or service? Are they predominantly males or females? Between a specific age range? Living in a specific region? Which group is most likely to respond to the product or service that you’re offering? Psychographics What do these groups of people enjoy doing? What do they do in their free-time? What is their purchasing behaviour? Their income and lifestyle? Knowing how your target market lives and behaves will significantly help you when deciphering a strategy to market your offerings. Competition Who are you competitors? What are they doing with their marketing initiatives? What is successful and unsuccessful about what they’re doing? How can you improve on the areas that your competitors were less successful? Knowing who your competitors are and what they’re doing will help you figure out a way to do it better. Breakthrough Creative When you’ve established the answers to all of the aforementioned questions, this will assist in developing breakthrough creative that may or may not have been previously explored in your industry. What Sets You Apart Companies can offer similar products or services but what sets each one apart from one another? It could be something as simple (and intricate) as a marketing strategy. Is it your logo? Your customer relationship management? Your intuitive website? Your community-focused social media plan? Figure out what sets you apart from the others, and run with it. What has been your experience in the marketing of B2B or B2C?
by Belinda Lui | Jan 21, 2014 | Interactive, Latest
The definition of retail space has altered over the last decade. It’s not a new trend for retailers to take their retail space and promotions to the online realm — for larger retailers, e-commerce is just a reinforcement to their physical plan-o-grams. What does this mean for smaller, more independent retailers, though? When a choice has to be made between spending hard-earned money on a physical retail space or marketing to the online world, which option would garner greater returns?
Let’s consider the pros and cons of physical retail space and e-commerce:
Physical Retail Space:
Pros: There is still a vast demographic that is not digitally savvy or prefer to do their shopping offline. Having a physical retail space will enable this demographic to continue their patronage to your brand. Customer service will still have a personal touch to it given that you would be present at the store greeting them face-to-face.
Cons: Property costs – Above and beyond paying the monthly bills of your lease or mortgage, you also need to consider the cost of storing inventory. Shelf space is also valuable real estate when you consider the return on each square footage. If an item is less visible or unappealing to customers, it takes up room from merchandise that might otherwise be more successful. Customer service is also key when you have a physical retail space.
E-Commerce:
Pros: Not only can you appeal to a much wider demographic, but you can do it at a much lower cost. Start-up costs for a fully functional e-commerce site can be hefty, but the upkeep — should you choose a relatively simple back-end management system — will be significantly less than that of a physical retail space. Your approach to servicing customers will change a bit, but the principles and client relationship management (CRM) should remain the same.
Cons: Competition is fierce in general but even more so online. You are no longer competing with retailers in your area but with brands across the globe (especially those that offer worldwide shipping). You miss out on the demographic that still prefers to shop offline or are wary of purchasing products that don’t allow for an easy return if the merchandise does not fit.
These are just a few pros and cons between physical retail space and e-commerce. Can you think of some more?
by Belinda Lui | Jan 3, 2014 | Latest, Social Media
I remember when Pinterest was first getting popular and served as one of the biggest distractions when I was trying to study for exams. I liked the humorous posts and fashion boards. A few years later, my friends started getting married and Pinterest was an excellent way to brainstorm ideas for bridal showers and cute DIY projects. As the end user, I can definitely see how Pinterest marketing would be a good outlet to implement a campaign to leverage a product or service. As a business, you might want to know…
5 statistics on Pinterest Marketing to consider for your marketing strategy:
1) Conversion rates for Pinterest traffic are 50% higher than other social media sites:
In other words Pinterest drives more traffic. The click-through from Pinterest to your website and then ultimately purchasing your product or service, is ultimately what you want.
2) Pinterest buyers spend more money, more often, on more items than any of the other top 5 social media sites.
Which makes sense — you can appeal to the consumer visually, with a convenient link to your website.
3) 47% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from Pinterest.
What this means is that your content has the potential to make a major influence if it is repinned often. This is especially true because Pinterest networks are made up of friends — and people trust their friends.
4) Pinterest generates 4x more revenue (per click) than Twitter and 27% more per click than Facebook.
Pinterest has been referred to as a “top of the funnel channel” — this is because it sends more new and potential customers to your site than Twitter and Facebook. Being a strong lead generator, Pinterest has earned its name in the marketing arena for online sellers.
5) 80% of total pinterest pins are repins.
Which means, original content makes up 1/4 the amount of total content on Pinterest. Designing content that is relevant and shareable will increase the likelihood of it being repinned.
(Statistics from: Social Media Today)
What are some examples of excellent Pinterest marketing?
