Kevin Correll Management 292

It=s true that initial reports provided little evidence of successful advertising on the Internet. After all the hype, reports found that internet advertising only accounted for 1% of most companies total ad budgets. However the tide has turned and 1997's third quarter Internet advertising revenues amounted to $227 million dollars. The boost in Internet advertising revenues result from the realization of the following comparative advantages of Internet advertising over other mediums:

1) The one-stop product preview and purchase - Product marketing and sales in the same breath. The consumer sees the advertisement, clicks on it, and can purchase the product all within a matter of minutes. AOL says the percentage of customers who make purchases after clicking on an ad is at least 3.5%, and 1.5% on the Web. It’s direct-marketing without the postage.

2) Unlimited exposure and hit-frequency - Based on ad placement and the nature of the host website, Internet advertisements can have unparalleled exposure time and hit-frequency. Websites that feature constant content changes (i.e. Employment sites, Sports/ Entertainment centers, News sites, etc.) are great sources for daily target market hits with long message exposure.

3) Internet means interact – Create a unique and fun ad that gets the consumer to click-through to your home website. Maybe your ad poses a simple trivia question with the answer waiting at your site. Perhaps the ad displays an interesting or comedic skit that concludes with a customer click-through to the company Website. There are endless possibilities to promote client-advertisement interaction. Entertain your clients, receive product feedback, and even conduct some basic market research all by placing an ad on the Internet.

4) Website visits are more quantifiable and legitimate - The consumer’s involvement in viewing the Internet advertisement is the strength of Internet advertising. The most interaction TV and radio commercials offer is the ability to change the channel until regular programming returns. The consumer decides how they want to spend their time online and if it involves being a part of your advertisement, then you’ve got a measurable and legitimate ad campaign.

5) Footprints help you track down your clients - If the customer arrives at your web-site with a click-through, you know that your Internet advertising led them there. Furthermore you can get evidence to directly match your Internet advertisements against each other by comparing the number of click-throughs and resulting sales per ad campaign. Other direct website visits can be attributed to outside advertising sources.

6) The start of a beautiful relationship – Web advertising gives company’s the chance to develop a relationship with the clients on the Internet. Says Tom Hyland; "evolving web advertising models build relationships that promote unique user involvement and personalization."

Initially, Web advertising was defined by banner advertising. Banners occupy a small portion of the Web page and require a click to bring clients to the advertiser’s Web site. A new trend is the development of content sponsorships, marking a shift towards creative Web advertising. The intent of a content sponsorship is to stimulate the user to create an association between the content and the sponsor (Advil’s sponsorship of ESPN SportsZone’s Injury Report). Applying a banner click-through to the content sponsorship equates to a very effective Internet advertising campaign.

Sport marketing –the marketing of sport and the marketing through sport, has great potential on the Web. Marketing through sport can be accomplished by using sport Web sites such as NFL.com, ESPN.SportsZone.com or CBS.Sportsline.com. These sites deliver high reach and frequency for advertisement hits.

For large-scale advertisement needs, marketing of sport can likewise be accomplished on these sites, by promoting sports events and products to your target audience. For smaller-scale sport event and sport product advertising, High School and College Web sites offer more control of budget, reach, and target audience.

1. IAB – Internet Advertising Bureau http://www.iab.net

The site of the first global association devoted to maximizing the use and efficiency of advertising on the Internet. On this site you will find information on IAB events,

research, news and membership. Check out what's new at the IAB!

2) The University of Texas http://www.utexas.edu/coc/admedium.html

This site features a myriad of well-written newsletters and features relating to current trends and events in Internet advertising.

3) Marketspark http://marketspark.com

A marketing/consulting company specializing in sports, sporting goods, fitness, and health product marketing.

4) Net Gravity http://netgravity.com

Established in 1995 as the first commercial provider of online advertising solutions and has evolved to become the leading provider of online advertising and direct marketing solutions.

5) 50 Rules of Business Netiquette http://cnet.com/content/Builder/Business/Rules

A site designed to instruct marketers on the "do’s" and "don’ts" of Web advertising. Business Netiquette, as its name implies, is the standard of behavior that governs the commercial development and usage of the Net.