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by Geoffrey McDonald Bowll

on Mar 21

Guerrilla Guide: E-marketing

Advertise with us

This is great for emergencies and good for keeping sales alive too – invasive technology that adds brilliant connectivity and keeps us connected to the gene pool, but in the same sweep, may destroy a human’s sense of self – pushing us towards a life of Borg.

Cookies

Like with any sugar coating, there’s a dark side. Great for marketers, bad for humans. Many of the big company websites you go to today send out micro-cookies that enter your computer and make notes of the stuff you like and are interested in buying etc. They then tell other sites you visit, so you get to see ads that are more attuned to your preferences. This means an advertiser can be assured they are hitting on a warmed-up customer. Fantastic for improving response rates.

Media fragmentation = better creative

Where’s the power going to be? In creative content. The reason the creative class will rise to new heights of power and money is because there’s a lot of bucks going into trying to get consumer traction and the only thing the consumer wants is to be entertained or informed or helped in some way (i.e. what’s in it for me?). That does not require big lumps of media spend. In fact, it can’t be bought with simple money. It requires brains. You have to seduce, amuse or charm your customers. You can’t bully them in e-marketing, like you used to on free to air television. They will spam you and blog you if you make a mess of it. If you stuff up your relationship by being too pushy or too dumb, they will simply turn you off. Bye.

You have to make them want to look at you. Shit, how do you do that?

Lots of different, related messages

Integrate broad messages, but vary your message by customer type. How a 60-year-old will view a Snickers Bar is very different from how a 10-year-old does. But they both buy them and they both have a mobile in their hands right now. Be prepared to do five or six executions to different targets if you want the brand to be right for the audience. It will cost more in ad production, but your media costs are so low, it’s a great compromise.

Assume they understand

People are used to the methods of e-buying now. You don’t have to explain SMS shrt hnd do U? And assume your advertising websites will also be savvy. With banners, stick to the standard formats – 728 by 90 (long horizontal) and 250 by 300 (squarish) only.

Be fast

Speed is cash. Avoid photo-based messages and use vector-based stuff until faster delivery is here. If you’re using footage, keep screen sizes small, to 400 by 600 pixels, to avoid slow delivery.

Measure

Google Analytics, Quantcast… there are lots of them. Check your buying systems (Google, podcasts, teaser ads etc.) and site demographics against your objectives and adjust your creative until you get it right.

Be creative

This is an easy medium to see how good work outshines bad. You can test in minutes. There is no excuse for running poor creative when it is so measurable. Be bold. Be on relevant sites. Talk relevant language and say relevant things. Be exciting. Live a little. Matter.

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