Making the Right Impression Posted on August 27, 2008 Post a comment

Instead of having “answers” on a math test, they should just call them “impressions,” and if you got a different “impression,” so what, can’t we all be brothers? - Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts

The reality for brand marketers is that not all impressions are created equal. Getting the right ad impressions is like getting the right answers on a math test. In the interactive space, cost per impression (CPI) is probably as bad a metric for measuring the cost effectiveness of a Web campaign, as it was for measuring the cost of a print campaign based on a magazine’s circulation. Placement on a page, the content and context around the ad, the presence of neighboring ads, even the time of day an ad is viewed, all influence its effectiveness.

CPI is a concept that ad agencies promoted as a means to rationalize traditional TV, radio, and print advertising buys. The media buying community that sprang up to support Internet ad sales tried to emulate traditional ad buying metrics, and CPI migrated to the net. What if there was a better way? Well there is, and an increasing number of marketers are recognizing it.

Branded content offers brand marketers the ability to not just make an impression, but to make the right impression. Brands like Unilever, Weber Grills, and Coke are not just developing ad campaigns that deliver impressions, they are moving the boundaries of advertising through the use of branded content.

A brand’s Web site is the easiest place to make the right impression. There, the brand has complete control of messaging, content, and context. Therefore, a branded Web site is best used as a source of credible information about one’s own brand.

Beyond that, brands are using blogs, entertaining content, product placement, interactivity, and engagement to successfully demonstrate that not all impressions are created equal. So while we don’t need answers, we, as marketers, do need the right impressions.