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Association of National Advertisers, Inc.

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Web: www.ana.net

Oct 1999

The Internet: A Marketers Most Powerful


Tool
Robin Webster,
ANA
Five years ago, I joined ANA and among my list of job responsibilities was one special
assignment: to guide the development of interactive advertising and marketing.
Back in 1994, ANA themed its Annual Conference around new media, which was then largely
focused on CD-ROMS, kiosks and interactive television. About 10 percent of the audience was
both inspired and motivated by the then bold move of new ANA CEO, John Sarsen, to endorse
such a forward-looking, and to many, still futuristic topic. That same year, ANA partnered with
AAAA to form CASIE (Coalition for Advertising Supported Information and Entertainment) to
help address the new challenges and opportunities for advertisers and agencies raised by the
growth of this new medium.
These past five years have seen a revolution in the world of interactive advertising and marketing
one that is ongoing. By the end of 1994, online banner advertising was introduced. Advertisers
started building Web sites at breakneck speed. The close of 1996 found 90 percent of ANA
member companies with at least one Web site and by the summer of 1997, 64 percent were using
online advertising.
Soon everyone across the industry was looking for benchmarks and best practices in this new
medium to try to catch up with the run-away development pace of new technology. In 1996,
CASIE launched The CASIE Awards to honor the most effective advertising and marketing on
the Internet. In that same year, ANAs New Technology Committee initiated its annual survey on
Web site management and Internet advertising trends. The different results garnered from each
years survey for example, last years intense new focus on e-commerce related issues have
been a telling reflection of the evolving ways companies are leveraging the power of the Internet.
Here at the close of one millennium and the start of the next, it seems the right time to ask where
we stand as increasingly global and unmistakably wired marketing professionals. Marketers
today are being held accountable for their organizations most valuable assets: their brands. To
exceed expectations, they need better tools to build and nurture these brands, and better tools to
effectively measure the progress and success of their endeavors. Marketers must keep ahead of the
curve on trends of integration, convergence and globalization in this new age of information a
distinctly digital age. And I believe that our best tool today is the Internet if we have the
patience and insight to learn the valuable lessons taught by the frenzied growth of these past fiveplus years.
Lets look at some of what we already know. The Internet helps the marketer:
z
z

build brand awareness and brand image;


improve communication with their customers, with fellow employees and partners (e.g.,
agencies) who are directly involved in the marketing process, as well as with other

z
z
z
z

functional areas of the company;


maintain customer relationships and increase usage of their products and services;
organize massive amounts of information;
increase revenues via a new channel of distribution; and
reduce costs.

We are starting the new millennium with the ultimate marketers tool, the Internet. But many
signs point to the fact that we are still learning how to use it. Tables 1 summarize some of the
lessons learned essential to taking advantage of the online arena. Needless to say, the Table is
intended to evolve with the medium they reflect. So I invite ANA members and readers to add to
these charts, so we, as an industry, can share learning in the true spirit of the information age.

TABLE 1: THE INTERNET: A MARKETER'S MOST POWERFUL TOOL


Value of the Internet to
Keys to Success
the Marketer

Do's and Don'ts


z

Easy navigation

1.
Information/Communication
z

with your customers


about your products
and services through
online advertising and
Web sites;
with employees and
partners who are
directly involved in the
marketing process
using extranets;
with other functional
areas of the company
(sales, finance,
manufacturing,
distribution, HR, etc.)
using intranets

Appropriate
format

z
z

Offer depth of
information both
down and across

Make sure users


have a way to
ask questions to
the people who
can answer them
24/7

Make sure you


can handle the
traffic, especially
at peak periods

Test with your


toughest
customers before
you release

Give users an
easy way to
download
software needed
to view
information, or
use technology
that sniffs out
browser
capabilities and
serves the
appropriate
format
Link to other
sites which pick
up where you
leave off and/or
partner with other
content providers
Keep your
information up to
date and check
links to make
sure your
partners are good
bed fellows
Keep MIS and
other functional
areas informed
about marketing
plans

How to Measure
z
z

z
z

Length of visit
Average number of
pages visited
Most frequently
reviewed pages

Aborts
Number of times help
button is used

Traffic patterns of
visitors (source of
visits and clicks)

E-mails

Value of the Internet to


Keys to Success
the Marketer

Do's and Don'ts


z

Use appropriate
format for your
objective

2. Build brand awareness


and image

Fully integrate
your brand
communications
and enforce your
brand identity
standards

Value of the Internet to


Keys to Success
the Marketer

Use Internet
advertising
(banners, rich
media,
interstitials, minisites) if your
primary goals are
to increase brand
awareness. Every
brand does not
need a full Web
site.
Use combinations
of online
advertising and
Web site if your
product is a
'considered
purchase' and/or
your primary goal
is online revenues

z
z

z
z

z
z
z
z
z

ads displayed
pre/post-brand
awareness
pre/post-brand image
pre/post attitudes and
usage
clicks
inquiries
leads
transactions
online revenues

Build a global
extranet with
access to all
company
marketers and
external partners
(e.g., agencies
and consultants)
House on the
extranet your
brand identity
standards,
approved artwork
(such as product
shots) and files
which include a
full range of
campaign
executions
regardless of
format (TV,
print, outdoor,
direct mail, etc.)

Do's and Don'ts


z

How to Measure

Need permission
from your frontend and back-end
operations and

How to Measure

3. Developing a relationship
with customers = brand
loyalty

Respect you
customer
Give them
relevant
information
(both in terms of
content delivered
and when it is
delivered)
z

Build a database
which contains
as much
information as
possible about
individual
customers

Creative online
service areas to
answer questions
and/or to suggest
different ways to
use
products/services

Value of the Internet to


Keys to Success
the Marketer

databases across
all your
subsidiaries and
all your
functional areas,
creating one
single file for
each individual
customer
Post privacy
policies and give
customer choice
to opt in or opt
out; reward them
if they opt in, and
respect them if
they opt out
Use e-mail to
maintain a
relationship, not
to acquire a new
customer
Fully integrate
your front-end
and back-end
operations and
databases across
all your
subsidiaries and
all your
functional areas,
creating one
single file for
each individual
customer
Market related
products/services
from all areas of
your company
If inquiries
cannot be
handled by
published
answers and
suggestions, you
need to have staff
available 24/7

Do's and Don'ts

z
z

Number of unique
visitors and their
repeat rate
Length of visit
E-mails/inquiries

Transactions/revenues
in total and across
product lines

Timing/urgency of emails/inquiries

How to Measure

4. Increase revenue via new


channel of distribution

Make it easy for


customers
Deliver
exceptional
customer service
and fast delivery

Value of the Internet to


Keys to Success
the Marketer
5. Cost savings in such areas
as:
z

z
z
z

z
z

customer service
(online vs. phone bank
or brochures)
marketing materials
(online vs. paper or
video)
overnight delivery and
postage
billing
recruiting
gathering competitive
information
market research
and so on

Measure total
cost saving
(direct and
indirect)
Make sure
service offered
on the Internet is
as good or better
than its
terrestrial cousin

For repeat
purchasers, verify
previous
information is
still accurate
versus having
them resubmit
information
Give them
options of where
to shop (online
and offline)
Offer information
on related
products/services
Communicate
with the customer
from purchase to
delivery

Do's and Don'ts


z

Don't forget
everyone isn't
online and/or
doesn't want to
use the Internet
for everything

z
z

Revenues in total and


across product/service
lines
Revenue per customer
and per transaction
Repeat purchase rate
Customer satisfaction
tracking
Conversion rate (from
sales lead to
transaction)
Track sources of
volume across
channels
Cannibalization rates

How to Measure

Cost of online option


vs. non-online option
for all e-business
opportunities

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