From Wikipedia,
Interactive Advertising the use of interactive media to promote and/or influence the buying decisions of the consumer in an online and offline environment. Interactive advertising can utilize media such as the Internet, interactive television, mobile devices (WAP and SMS), as well as kiosk-based terminals.
Interactive advertising affords the marketer the ability to engage the consumer in a direct and personal way, enabling a sophisticated and dimensional dialogue which can affect a potential customer's buying decisions, particularly in an e-commerce environment.
Perhaps one of the most effective implementations of interactive advertising is so-called viral marketing. This technique uses images, texts, web links, flash animations, audio/video clips etc., passed from user to user chain letter-style, via email.
No one I know in online marketing would deny that the interactivity of being
online has provided the advertising and marketing
communities with a new paradigm that has changed forever
the way that audiences will be sought, found and communicated
with. So, let's take some time and look at what I
call today's Advertising's Four New Truths:
1. Online is interactivity
The benefits of interactivity with consumers is self
evident. The unrivaled ability to immediately engage
target audiences with additional information at the
moment they seek it. Maybe even perhaps an ecommerce
opportunity? Have you stopped to consider that on
the internet today, people now expect "immediate
gratification" from their advertising? If you
see an ad on TV or in a print publication and you
want more information, you'll have to take more action.
Studies show more often than not you'll go online
for it. When you are online you are far more actively
engaged and more likely to move down that purchase
funnel.
2. Online is visual
Traditional direct mail cellphone advertising can
show you a Motorola Razor from one or maybe two angles.
Come to Motorola's website and we'll let you see it
from 360 degrees. We'll change the color for you with
a mouse click, or let you put several different models
and colors in the same class from different OEMs side
by side so you can compare the features and the pricing.
No one can deny the visual impact of a great cellphone
ad by direct mail, but online ads enable true visualization
that help buyers make decisions
3. Online is measurable
I think we all would agree that the online industry
could use some standards, which could help advertisers
and their agencies to more easily compare vendors
or site traffic. Even taking that into consideration,
today the internet is so far ahead of all other forms
of advertising it is almost beyond comparison. Television,
radio, and printed publications (newspapers, magazines
or direct mail), can only estimate audiences based
on things like written diaries or people meters.
Nothing compares with knowing exactly how many people
clicked on your ad or watched your online video, or
if people reacted better to one offer versus a second
or third.
4. Online allows precision targeting
The problem with traditional media is that it often would only offer the approximation of targeting, such as zip code data or demographics that may be based on an old reader survey that sampled only a small size of the true audience. I am the first to admit not all advertising seeks to reach a very precisely defined audience. Some advertisers believe by casting a wider net, they could catch a few unexpected fish. However in this day of heavy pressure on marketing ROI, I find it comforting to know that the internet can target as precisely as you want to define your target audience. Today's internet advertising takes the guesswork out of the picture. By reaching consumers contextually or based on specific behaviors, advertising waste can be eliminated and ROI can improve significantly.
