ROI, Engagement, Tracking and Exposure

Large advertisers want to know the return on investment (ROI) for their advertising dollar. They also want the consumer to engage with their advertising: click, join, opt-in, comment, view demo, submit form, subscribe, click through to another page, request sample, purchase, etc.

In 2004, almost 50 percent of those completing the Jupiter Research Advertiser Executive Survey agreed that "Behavioral Targeting" would have the greatest positive effect on online advertising.

This has not changed. Advertisers are projected to spend an even higher percentage towards better online audience targeting, more efficient media buys and increased marketing results. They are discovering ways to track our behaviors.

ACNielsen Homescan and Yahoo! developed Consumer Direct, a program focused on discovering the link between Web surfing and sales. Some 23,000 households have agreed to participate in a test to monitor their surfing behavior through the Yahoo! network of sites.

There have been 25 campaigns for consumer packaged goods, credit card companies and others, each over six to eight weeks and with an average of seven million Yahoo! users tracked. The offline sales difference between exposed and unexposed groups averages 20 percent! That increase generally translates into around $1 million in additional sales.

Let us all learn from the big guys: Track your advertisements, write engaging content, require action from your visitor, know that exposure is important to your ROI.

Source: Integrated Interactive Marketing: Quantifying the Evolution of Online Engagement