Dave Serino Blogs

e-Marketing Conference - Session Two, Online Advertising

Session Two – Online Advertising with Tania Leichliter, Principal at AdGenuity Marketing Solutions Inc. located in Boston. Here are some tidbits:

- Your online advertising has to reflect how you want the consumer to engage.   Online advertising needs a strong call to action.    Good engagement, proper placement and strong call to action can generate click thrus up to 5.5% in online display advertising. 

- Brickfish.com – is doing some very interesting applications for San Diego and pushing consumers to the Travelocity landing page.  Interesting partnership between two organizations – especially an OTA. 

- Mobile travel deals - create engagement from your audience.   Use opt-in, then communicate deals and information when people travel around town.   Tania uses www.hipcricket.com. 

- e-Mail marketing is an excellent way to develop strong relationships with your customers.  Don’t feel pressured to always send an offer.  Send a thank you after they visit.

- Ad networks – geo targeting based on geographic and behavioral information.   If you are not targeting today, you are missing the boat.  Remember that not all ad networks are alike.  Be sure to discuss their process and consumer modeling when working with them. 

- Print ads don’t translate into online ads.  Online advertising success depends on the redesign of the creative.

Some more photos from Flickr.  Also, be sure to check out Bill Geist's Blog for more.

Fly By the Pound from Philly

Leave it up to the crazy cats in Philly to create the world’s first airline whose ticket prices are based your weight: Fly Derrire-Air. 

I actually heard about the airline earlier in the week during a news update on a local radio station.  I did miss the beginning of the news read, but I heard that the airline was “offering seats with pricing based on your weight”.   “What a concept!” – was my initial reaction.  We’re just another form of freight and, lately, I have been treated like a brown, cardboard box strapped in a seat by every airline I fly.  Why should I pay the same amount as a guy twice my size?  UPS and FedEx work that way, why not public transportation? Then, I thought about it a little more.  I figured it would only be a day or two before the first discrimination suit was filed against the airline.

Now, this concept isn’t new.  Maybe 10 or 15 years ago, I did hear about hotels who ran promos for “rooms by the pound”.  Many were pushed to stop due to unfair pricing practices. 

Sorry to be a buzz kill, but all of you lawyers need to stop and wipe the drool off your keyboards.  It is all a hoax.  Our good friends at the Philadelphia Inquirer – online at Philly.com – generated the whole concept to "demonstrate the power of our brands in generating awareness and generating traffic for our advertisers, and put a smile on people's faces,”  according to Philadelphia Media Holdings spokesman Jay Devine.

The company said they will track traffic to the Derrie-Airsite and Devine also blurted this key phrase - “there's already a buzz about the campaign on online blogs.”

The keyword is “online” and this little experiment validates the media shift that we have been witnessing for the past three or four years.  Jay, I'm one guy with a big smile.

The Travel Dude

I was catching some March Madness last night when I saw the new version of the Bud Light Dude commercial. This one featured the “Travel Dude.”

Most of you road warriors can appreciate every incident noted in the spot.   It's funny and hit its target audience – men like me - right between the eyes.    Matter of fact, I think I was that dude on several occasions.

One disappointment with the spot was the lack-luster landing page.  They use the unique URL – www.dudemadness.com – as a call to action.   Catchy and cool – especially when they tie it into the NCCA tournament.  But, when I get to the site, none of my expectations are met.   I am expecting to see the commercial spot there – as I am planning to link to it or virally feed it to my friends via e-mail.  I was also expecting all of the dude commercials, maybe some background info on the spots, and even a possible outtake or two.   As you can see, only the original Dude spot is there and that is it.    I need to go to YouTube to find a link to the video.

Something to think about when building the landing page for your next campaign.   My response to Anheuser-Bush – “Dude?”