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Banner Ads vs. PR
UK-Netmarketing Weekly Round-up - February 2, 2001

On the face of it might be tempting to think that buying banner adverts to promote your website would be easier than a spot of well-placed PR. Trouble is, it's not so easy to target banner ads, measure the results and roll-out a well formed campaign. Once you've gone to all that trouble, would it have just been easier to follow the PR route?

Niki Hunter asked, "Does anyone know if there is any evidence as to whether banner ads are more or less effective than PR activity? Does this differ between b2b and b2c sites?"

Mat Morrison was first off the mark, writing, "...Suspect you mean as a traffic-driving mechanism - rather than awareness-generating, or trust-building exercise. Why not do both? I'd not be alone if I suggested that you cannot sensibly measure the impact of an individual communication channel in the complex environment in which our messages appear (this is an understandably unpopular opinion). On the plus side, however, we do find that [click-through rate] improves during TV, press and PR activity. The banner seems to act as an aide memoire and entry point"

Xav Adam, from a PR background, emailed, "... it depends how you define success. PR and banner ads can be quite different. If the PR brief has clear parameters e.g. to drive more traffic to the site, you can possibly measure the two. Usually PR is much more encompassing and may include, for example, attending events so it cannot be compared directly to banners."

David Cabrera illustrated with a, errr unusual example, "PR and Banner (response) ads do very different things Imagine you're watching East Enders and you see Ian Beale using the web site killer4hire.com. Possible consumer takeout:

they must be value for money
Cockneys use them so well hard, and
if they accept the contract on Phil Mitchell no job is to difficult for them

So you the viewer build up certain perceptions about killer4hire - reputable, gets the job done, value for money - in other words a Bob the Bullet type - we will fix them! Then when Bob runs his banner ads with killer offers, he doesn't need to explain who he is, he just communicates there's never been a better time to hire a trained assassin"

Tim Moore suggested a slightly more pragmatic example, "You could advertise a competition, using banner ads. The prize would be something very tempting, but also totally apt for your target audience. The way to win the prize might be to visit a news related web site, to read articles which would give you the answer to your question and allow your person to enter the comp... and you guessed it, the article they had to read would be the ones the PR agency placed."

Running a banner campaign and a PR campaign, however, may involve two different agencies working together. Of course, they'll co-operate in the best interests of the client... won't they?

Sally Krumholz shared her experiences, "...as a person who works at an interactive agency, the problem I have with some PR agencies is that they don't always cooperate with the ad agency. Sometimes it's our fault because we fail to keep the PR agency in the loop, sometimes it's the PR group's fault because they don't let us in on their promo ideas until it's too late for us to help. And sometimes it's the client's fault because we are not allowed to be in contact with their PR agency or have no clue who it is. go figure...

From where I sit, it would be nice if we could just work together to achieve client objectives by focusing on our own expertise rather than trying to 'do it all'. Agencies create adverts and branding campaigns & when they have an interactive arm, the online initiatives (excluding the PR). PR agencies create the buzz to fuel it all. Clients can crash the whole party by being uncooperative. :)"

Rod Kohler added his view on the sometimes harsh reality, "Ten years in this business and not once in that time have I met an ad agency and PR agency who mutually respect each other and are happy to work seamlessly together to benefit the brand. Maybe it is just one of those things like account handler and creative bod, just not meant to be together."

And it seemed like such a simple question, didn't it? Perhaps it's because PR and interactive agency folks aspire to each others jobs, or perhaps everyone's just too busy. In the meantime, the sensible solution appears to be carefully simmer your 'marketing mix'.

Fall of the dotcoms

A TV company researcher posted to the list, asking for dotcom peoples' experiences. Amongst other things, Kevin asked, "Did you go to work with a dotcom because you were enticed by the idea of working in a new sector that appeared exciting and dare we say it sexy. Did you maybe think that you were going to get rich quick? We're looking to hear about your experiences for a television programme we are making. ... Were you working for a company who had the plug pulled on them by impatient and cut throat Venture Capitalists? ... Did you end up working 20 hour days all for nothing/ or for ungrateful CEO's? Was it glamorous or was it just a hard slog?"

Unsurprisingly, the reaction to what at first glance might be seen as another TV programme looking to jump on the 'dotcom disaster' bandwagon. Reaction from UKNM's members was, well, quick and vociferous.

Lois Grayson wrote, "I was really bothered by this post last night and resolved to respond by posting a request that we all think v carefully before getting involved It was brilliant to find so much sense and consistency in our community in this morning. This is just what we DON'T need Kevin - another thinly disguised attempt to ridicule the industry we're trying to build - a programme which no doubt in the interests of *balanced* journalism will look to the future as well as pick over the hard-learnt lessons of the recent past, yeah I bet."

Leslie Bunder emailed, "Please... it's not the fall of the dotcoms, it's the fall of projects that were never really sound businesses... they just happened to involve the Internet. ...not every VC is cut throat, they are certainly professional and business like, but you also must remember some of the business proposals doing the rounds for the last couple of years were very arrogant... for every 'bad' VC there are likely to be 'bad' people trying to raise money for their crap venture... it is about working in a business that is sound and more importantly is a business that people wish to use and engage in... I look forward to see how the show is going to pan out and truly hope it is not going to be as bad as some of the programmes we saw last year about 'dotcom millionaires' and how every person and his pet makes millions...(which were mainly on paper...)"

Tim Parkin contrasted working conditions from his previous jobs with working for a dotcom. He wrote, "I have to say that, having closely with television, it would make a fascinating article to show how people like yourself are working very hard for a dream and that they are all being taken advantage of by unscrupulous bosses. Wait, I hear you saying my boss isn't like that. Well funnily enough neither is mine. Oh, and you also say you work those hours because you love your job not because you're forced into doing it. Well same here mate.

Yeah I've worked for a company that I didn't think rewarded me adequately for the work I was doing. And that's why I moved to the Internet industry. The only people getting sh***ed by the Internet industry are those that are greedy and there will always be those around. ...But 9 times out of 10 those people know what's coming and can easily find another job. ...Oh and if you want to know the worst industry for this, try the music industry. Having worked as A&R for a Major I've got first hand experience of 20 hour days, at least in the web industry I get paid for them.

Ray Taylor suggested a different approach, "Are you really being serious? Does the some total of all the smart thinking from UKNM really add up to nothing more than thrusting the collective head in the sand and hoping that dotcom woe will go away all of its own accord? Grow up, people! This is the big, bad, nasty world. If you don't like what the media says about you, then tell them a better story."

David Simpson painted a slightly more rosy picture, "OK so by now you are either thinking 'damn - wish I'd phrased that differently' or (more likely) 'arseholes to you lot - didn't need your help anyway'. ...The culling of shit ideas has done a lot of good, 'wheat from chaff' , 'men from boys' that sort of thing. As the dust settles you can make out some really strong ventures with tremendous potential. Interest is stirring among the serious city investors, projections for profit, revenue, revenue sources, and market size are being scrutinised more closely this time as a result outlooks are more realistic... No-one denies that some serious mistakes were made but it's been done to death, time to move on? By asking different (more positive) questions you'll get a very different response from the list."

Steve Bowbrick summed up, "On this TV programme, in defence of Kevin:

Does anyone here seriously believe that the apocalyptic reversal of fortune the dotcom world has just gone through (and will continue to go through) is *not* worthy of a TV programme?
Is anyone so self-deluding as to believe that this really is 'business as usual', that it's just sorting out the sheep from the goats, that it'll all be over by Christmas, that any other business sector has ever experienced such a punishing crash, so much real personal misery?
Are you seriously telling me that you don't recognise *any* of the characters in Kevin's email - the opportunists, the shysters, the naifs, the incompetents - or that you have never been shafted, misled, over-ambitious, over-worked, under-paid or frightened to death at any point in your new media career?
Has everyone totally lost their sense of humour? Is this really just another dull-as-ditchwater industry not even worthy of a sensational TV programme? Come on, guys! This business used to be fun and spontaneous and no-bullshit. When did we all become our dads and start suggesting trips to Companies House?"

LINKS OF NOTE:
A quick round up of interesting, funny, useful and other links gleaned from the uk-netmarketing list, office gossip and other nefarious sources...we take no responsibility should you chose to click...basically, it's not our fault. Enjoy:

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