Display Chain Reaction
Today, let’s start off with a top level overview of the various marketing channels and how this model below can help us all understand the role of each marketing channel with Display as a focal point.
Please click on the image below for a clear shot of the process flow.
The Impression to Conversion Consumer Journey
- Display Advertising can generate a first time Engagement or re-Engagement and initiate the Sales Funnel Activity.
- Ideally when the consumer is aware of an Ad that is relevant, attractive and contextually relevant, they act by clicking on it.
- Let’s examine what happens when a Digital Prospect clicks on the Display Ad
Consumer goes URL and looks at the offer and leave without an instant buy it is because:
a) Offer does not meet their needs or expectations
b) Want to compare prices and other offers for other sites
c) They need to discuss this with colleagues/friends and family about it
d) Got distracted, plan to get back to it later and Search for XYZ – the brand
e) 101 miscellaneous reasons
A lot happens between Ad impression, Ad click, first visit to the Ad Destination URL, several ensuing Visits to the client Domain and then Conversion. Unlike lower value item such as an Mp3, CD, T-Shirt or a bottle of wine, consumers who purchase cars, real estate or travel packages do not act upon an impulse buy.
It is unreasonable that they would see an Ad for a USD 100,000 Lexus, BMW or Benz or a holiday with their loved ones and click buy now from seeing an offer for the first time. It is the start of that unique customer journey
For new consumers who:
a) Never heard of Brand XYZ.com
b) Vague recall XYZ.com
c) Unaware of Special Campaign Offer
Those Digital Prospects make visit 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 … so as to understand and engage deeper with the brand XYZ and feel right about the value proposition. If not for Display Advertising Banner that generated the lead they would not have further visits that result in a sale.
Sales are no doubt made from folks who see the banner, click and buy and those see the banner for the second time, click and buy and those who use Search … etcetera as illustrated above,
Empirical Evidence that Display Banners actually help lift sales via Visits 2, 3, 4, 5
An Analysis by Atlas solutions (A Microsoft Company) explores the role Display media plays in combination with sponsored search and whether exposure to both of these types shows any marked benefit over exposure to just one.
“Eleven advertisers who track both display media and sponsored search clicks through Atlas were analysed. Each advertiser’s primary conversion was considered and users were classified as having converted or not converted; repeat conversions were not considered in calculating conversion rates. Finally, each user’s history was evaluated and then segmented into an exposure group depending on the media types they had seen or interacted with. Over 10.8 million impressions and 2.5 million search clicks from 1.8 million users were analyzed for this study.
The Display Banner Chain Reaction
Rate lift over Search alone: Exposing search users to display media from the same advertiser results in a 22 percent increase over search alone, suggesting a synergy between these two channels that cannot be measured separately.”
Reference: Atlas Solutions
PS: Here is interview courtesy of Marketing-Interactive that may additionally add weight to this argument:
Here Yahoo does a 360 degree study to evidence how Display Ads lifts Sales for over 3,000,000 consumers of a major US retailer in the physical shops. The empirical evidence is compelling …
So marketeers, do you still want to spend your precious marketing dollars on dirty, polluting Newspaper ads and Street banners or use the compelling body of Intelligence to leverage off of Display & Search or social Media?
