I'm not saying that these have to be different from your primary marketing objectives but there should be tangible targets that you want to achieve.
Do you want it to deliver on branding or response. Whatever your objectives it is imperative that these are clear so all parties work towards the same goal.
Despite the ability to micro-target, most agencies still use the traditional claimed demographics or by 'programme type' approach. The basic targeting functions are geo-targeting based on IP addresses (different messages are sent out depending on where users come from), domain targeting (based on access through corporations or education institutions), and registration targeting (information provided when users personalise pages or opt-in for specific information). More advance functions include databases to re-target users who responded in a particular way.
Banners aren't the only ad units available. There are units which create impact like Eyeblaster but do not carry branding effectively. Superstitials allow you to play near-TVC quality without bandwidth constrains. These large creative units provide better performance but aren't the only ones.
All too often, agencies recommend fancy things but ultimately it's the simple ones - text links, emails, search engine optimisation and sponsorships - that work. Using the right tool for the right job is imperative.
Unlike traditional media, online offers near real-time results. This allows you to change creative, move budgets between sites or cut sites not performing. At the very least, have a frequency cap on exposures.
If after three exposures the user doesn't respond, send a different creative or stop exposure altogether.
If your message does not carry a call to action (and I don't mean just adding 'click now'), then you should not be measuring click thru rates but the effective CPM. Too often clients look at click thrus to determine if the campaign has succeeded. If you're running a branding campaign, then gross impressions matter, but if your campaign is to gather a database or to sell, then click thru rates, cost per acquisition or cost per sale would be important metrics to look at.
So, if you sent your child to school for a week and he returns unble to read, does that mean that the school's not effective? While there was the earlier hype that interactive media would be the panacea for marketing communications, we now know that you cannot replace traditional marketing principles. And as we have taken a while to understand the effects of traditional media on marketing communications, we must give interactive media a chance to prove itself.
