Is Online Advertising a Waste of Time for CPG?
|
Written By Reprise Media | April 5, 2005 | Share This
|
|
A recent article in CRM Buyer makes the claim that online ads are a waste of time for the consumer packaged goods channel (CPG).
Clearly CPG clients are all about branding, and as a search engine marketing firm we can take solace in the studies that prove how search marketing has created one of the most […]
A recent article in CRM Buyer makes the claim that online ads are a waste of time for the consumer packaged goods channel (CPG).
Clearly CPG clients are all about branding, and as a search engine marketing firm we can take solace in the studies that prove how search marketing has created one of the most important and vital brand channels since the advent of the Internet (possibly more effective than email marketing). But our camaraderie for all-things interactive compels us to stand up for our online brethren. A recent JupiterResearch/Ipsos-Insight Consumer Survey shows that 68% of women have visited a CPG site in the last year…the percentage of men is a bit lower, at 41%.
One of the most compelling examples for how online media can compliment a brand launch, Crest Vanilla Mint toothpaste scored one for the books when its debut on The Apprentice was met with 800,000 hits to the website within 2 hours. Those hits then yielded 40,000 requests for product samples and 20,000 online contest entries. According to P&G, this brought about their highest online interest in a product launch ever.
While this is a special circumstance, it illustrates a well-executed brand launch that capitalizes on the unique opportunities and attributes of the online medium. The viability of leveraging interactive to serve a CPG client’s goals obviously depends on the intended result. In efforts to build product awareness, many of our clients have come to track clicks to their site and the depth of interaction once there. We’ve also explored more promotional activities like registrations to sweepstakes or free-trials. And those clients who’ve looked to online media for increasing brand loyalty have collected email registrations and provided coupon and recipe downloads.
The simple fact is that online now provides a reach broader than cable, and with wireless radio, print downloads and streaming media, the comfort and convenience of most traditional media. To suggest online advertising serves no immediate purpose for CPG brands exhibits a distinct lack of creativity and possible resistance to the great strides made in the past few months.
Randy Schwartz is Director of Strategic Development at Reprise Media.
Topics: Advertising: Online |