What Should Advertisers Do to Make Online Advertising More Engaging to Consumers
From Wix.com
by Oboulou.com
Contents |
New opportunities but also new rules
Internet offers a wide range of possibilities. This overview of the different tools that advertisers can use shows how much Internet is opening to a new world of communication.
But Internet has also generated an historical revolution concerning relationships between brands and consumers. In fact, advertisers have to keep in mind that Internet has been done by and for consumers. And in that way, they can’t have the same behavior like traditional Medias.
In other media channels (like TV or billboards), brands and consumers had a hierarchical relationship. Advertisers used to submit a message to the consumer who decided to believe in it or not. Internet has lead to the empowerment of consumer. They are no longer spectators, but are playing a crucial role in brand’s strategies. The aim is no more to broadcast a message but more to interact with the potential customers..
In this context, every appearance of brand in the web can be seen as an intrusion. To be accepted by customers and to be more engaging, they have to respect some rules.
To be more engaging to consumers, online advertising should,
1- Be creative
Internet users are always solicited by brands while surfing on the web. It seems to be much more disturbing for them, than the regular media channels because there is no way to avoid ads. These days some consumers are finding these promotions to be irritating, Eg: Pop up ADS, Big banners in the center etc, There days browsers and softwares are equipped to fight this menace and users aren't shying away to put their guard on.
There are also some softwares that automatically remove ads, and YOU never get to see them.
In this context, advertisers should think and look for news ways to promote their products, They can try to increase their chances to be seen by using sponsored links for example. Internet users are expecting a good value content, easy usability and convenience. The more creative ones can even expect to be broadcasted by some ‘Internet influencers.’ In fact, some very successful ads has created a viral buzz and they have over a million hits on sites like you tube, Daily motion and also on many blogs.
The Wilkinson case in France is a good example of creativity: First, the brand explained through a viral film the concept of an underground movement called DARE (les droits aux rasages extravagant = the right to shave eccentrically). Its mission is to support men who do not subscribe to the ‘perfect shave’ concept. This film encouraged others to send in pictures of their own eccentric shaves.
This campaign gave a positive image of the Wilkinson brand which brought together men around one claim: the right to shave eccentrically. Wilkinson advert was seen by every visitor, it used humour and didn’t present itself as a leader but more as a partner. It is a partner for men who want to shave they way they prefer.
See campaign Results below
- It has been mentioned in over 100 blogs
- Over 1.5 million website votes
2- Optimize the online campaign by using other channels
Using Internet can be a wonderful and an effective strategy to generate maximum visibility. To achieve this, brands can use some other media channels:
- Before launching an online campaign be sure people will visit your website, to increase their curiosity
- After or during the online campaign: to maximise visibility through a well known concept.
Wilkinson for example, extended its DARE concept by creating ads for print and outdoor and continued to develop viral films, banners and teasers online.
3- Make the dream come true
As we said Internet has permitted for consumers to be more independent concerning brands. But still, brands have the power to make people dream. And one of the characteristic of Internet is to make believe it’s users that anyone can become a center of interest or go on to become a star. Advertisers should be able to take advantage of this reality.
There were a bunch of ads who proposed consumers to become the actors or actresses of their advertising campaigns to make their users stars. We normally see this trend in cosmetic companies, where they include a personal interview of the customer to woo the potential customer. This acts as a goodwill ambassador to the “yet to be customer”.
In the case of Wilkinson for example, anyone could show their creativity and submit its image to people’s judgement.
In the case of Dove, the aim was to show the brands support to women in their protest against an artificial beauty assigned by Media. This winning ad was aired during the 79th Annual Academy Awards 2006.
Both examples show that brands have evolved to the function of an accomplice. But still, brands play a crucial role in consumer life’s including in relation to others or to their community.
4- Increase their knowledge concerning the target
On the contrary to other media channels, Internet gives the opportunity for advertisers to quantify users visiting their websites, reading their newsletters, etc due to this it’s possible to know the exact return on investment. According to that, they will have the possibility to increase their visibility without wasting their money.
Furthermore, complete databases help advertisers to have a complete overview concerning the profiles of Internet users. Procter & Gamble made very good use of Internet as a mirror of consumers behavior. The brand created a virtual supermarket where customers have to behave the way they would do during their shopping. By this way, Procter & Gamble is collecting important information which will help to have a better understanding on consumer’s expectations.
5- Be honest
Nowadays, the opinions of neighbourhood or relatives for example are more reliable than those of brands. On the internet the neighbours and relatives are blogs, reviews etc. Consumers rely more and more on blogers. They don’t even know and don’t hesitate to believe the writing on these blogs. Some brands, who realised the importance of creating this platform to discuss and share information with their target customers, tried to reach them by using a blog.
In fact, a blog is a fantastic way to personalize a brand’s image and to create proximity with the consumer, but it has to be used carefully. Coca Cola for example created a blog named the Zero Movement on which a man explained about his life with no problems, but the brand forgot to market it as its own initiative. Consumers felt deceived and reacted with criticism.
6- Be influential
Some personalities are well known by the community of Internet users and seem to be a very reliable source of information concerning brands. Brands can convey a positive message to a large audience by targeting them. That is what Garnier did for example by creating a partnership with Deedee, a famous French bloger. Her freshness and the topics she wrote on were a great match with Garnier’s values.
To summarize, advertisers have to listen more carefully to consumers, their media strategies and have to focus by adapting new channels, being creative depending on their values, their target and the message they want to broadcast. And last but not least, they have to entertain their customers.
Bibliography
http://socialgraph.blogspot.com/2008/10/making-online-advertising-more-engaging.html
http://www.user-groups.net/articles/online_advertising.html
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