Notes and Thoughts on Grocery 2.0

When it comes to the search results page, anything in the top 3 positions encourages clicks, the ads in the side panel can have great click through too - as long as they’re above the fold. The ads that drop below, well, let’s hope your competitor’s ads are less targeted than yours.

When someone is browsing a blog, or shopping, does it make a difference to the CTR if the ad is at the top of the page, a skyscraper on the side or that big ol’ 300 x 250 rectangle right in the middle of the page? Yes. Yes it does.

According to Gord Hotchkiss of Enquiro, that top of the page placement can make a difference.

“There is brand lift that comes from dominating the top of page. The biggest question for our first study was, how valuable are those top-of-page slots? If you own the organic position, do you need to buy the top sponsored spot? Is there lift by owning both spots? The answer is yes, to both. The lift we saw in most metrics was well into double digits, significant for marketers. You gain a bigger share of mind when you own more top-of-page real estate.”

Owning the top spots in organic and paid search is great. I am a bit wary against the click cannibalism (do you want to pay for a click when you could get it for free?) But that’s another other discussion…

“You lose brand awareness when you’re not there. For generic keywords, even if you have a strong brand in a category, if you’re not in a result set and your competitors are, your position of dominance will start to erode. In fact, we’ve seen people looking for dominant brands in a result set when they weren’t present, and their confidence in both the quality of the search results and the brand position started to erode. Often, it’s the biggest and strongest brands that are the least concerned about their search visibility. This arrogance could wipe them from the consideration set of many prospective buyers.”

Don’t lose your mindshare. Yes, you may have become the generic name for a category, such as Kleenex, but if you’re not owning that top position people are going to notice and wonder why someone else is in your place. Maybe the other brand is better? The consumer doesn’t know, or really much care, but they do know that you’re not where they expected you to be and have now turned their attention to the brand who is.

“Competition on the results page is a good thing. If domination of a results page is good, total domination must be better, right? Well, no, actually. We found more engagement with the top-of-page results when there were a couple of well-known competitors, and engagement led to an overall lift in brand awareness for the test brand. The reason has to do with the intent of the user. If a user is launching a search looking for alternatives to consider in a purchase decision, a results set with only one brand isn’t a very good match to that intent. The user will spend less time considering it, because their confidence is lower. But a results set that brings back two or three well-known brands is a better match, resulting in more engagement. Of course, you’re now competing with those brands, so effective messaging, positioning and landing page strategies become more important. But you already knew that, right?”

Competition is fabulous. We all know this but like to believe that total domination will result in all clicks going to you. It’s possible, but chances are people will search harder to find your competition. Level the playing field and position yourself next to them, just make sure your marketing is on target.

Brand awareness and mindshare have always been a top priority for marketing; but make sure that you position yourself not only in the consumer’s mind, but on their screens as well. With everyone spending more and more time on the internet it is essential that your brand be online too. Improving your online visibility will only prove to be more beneficial as users become technologically savvy.

As people are searching it’s important that they can find you - on Google, Yahoo! or MSN, on blogs and Shopping Applications.

Elise

** Read the full article “Brands On Search: Connecting During Consideration” by Gord Hotchkiss at Search Insider

Consumers depend on the internet for information. That is a fact. If they didn’t, Google wouldn’t be processing over 3 billion searches per day. The Web provides businesses and brands with cheap, unlimited space to provide what their consumers want and need, which includes information. But while many have embraced the web and all it offers, far too many businesses underestimate the power of the internet to connect with consumers.

“The reason Google is so valuable is because it’s the linchpin of the expansive, information-driven age. It links seekers of information to providers of information in the most accurate and efficient way. It proves that there’s a marketplace for information unlike any we have ever known. And modern brands must compete in that marketplace,” says Barry Wacksman of AdWeek.

Websites, at the very least, should be loyalty driving vehicles, where goal oriented consumers can connect with brands, make purchasing decisions and seek product related information. In addition, consumer dependence on the internet provides great potential for Internet-based directional advertising, for both retailers and brands.

A recent OMD study that tested consumer perceptions about advertising found that 81% of consumers said advertisers need to continue to communicate about their products, especially during a recession. Consumers said they would be more receptive to cost-savings messages and products that are positioned as investments. For low involvement products, marketers need to communicate brand benefits.

“The task for marketers therefore is to explore more efficient ways to connect and listen to their consumers in order to reduce costs, while still maintaining a presence in the marketplace and connection to their consumers,” says Joe Marchese, President of Socialvibe. “It’s possible that this economy will force marketers to innovate, and finally begin the shift of massive, high-waste, traditional media budgets into more engaging, measurable interactive marketing initiatives.”

When your consumers go online, will you be there?

Rachel

Much has been made over the last couple of weeks of Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama’s political decisions. From the VPs to the convention speeches, the political world analyzes every move, whether good or bad. One decision both candidates should be applauded for, is their use of online media as part of their campaign ventures.

The months leading up to, and during, the primary elections saw ever increasing online exposure from all candidates. As Advertising Age reported in January, in New Hampshire, 40% of adults visited a candidate’s home page and 25% viewed a candidate’s profile on a social network. For the under-30 group of voters, a candidate’s home page was the number one method of overall campaign interaction. 52% said they viewed the candidates’ websites, 43% read a candidate’s blog, which tied with TV ads, and 41% digested non-candidate blogs and news sites. 26% of voters of all ages checked a candidate’s social network profile, with many of them “friending” a candidate, or two.

A recent report by Didit, called “2008 Search Engines and Politics: A Study of Attitudes and Influences”, discovered that many voters go online for election information, depending on news sites, candidates’ websites and search engines. In fact, for 80% of voters online, online sources are among the top three media chosen for election information. 66% of survey respondents said they obtained election information by visiting online news sites, 30% frequented candidates’ websites, 15% viewed party websites and 14% read blogs. Other sources of information were polling sites, YouTube, social networks and email.

These findings show the increasing reliance candidates place on online media to support their campaign efforts. Not surprisingly, voter expectations mirror the candidate’s actions. 87% of voters expect candidates to have a website and 70% expect candidates to use email. Over 60% expect candidates to utilize online fund-raising, post videos and run online advertising campaigns. 50% expect to see candidate blogs and podcasts.

“When a majority of voters expect candidates to use web-based tools for fund raising, communicating with the loyal base, persuasion, and getting out the vote, the Internet is no longer an afterthought in planning a winning campaign,” says Karen Jagoda, Founder and President of E-Voter Institute.

“We knew that the Internet was a growing force in the political process… (but) had no idea that the shift was happening so quickly,” adds Glenn Kessler, CEO of HCD Research.

With less than 50 days left before the November 4th general election, both campaigns have successfully saturated the internet with political fact and fiction, anecdotes and advertising. Look for a clear winner this election year…the internet by a landslide.

Rachel

In a recent New York Times article chronicling the success of NBC’s Olympics coverage , author Bill Carter identifies the critical moves the network made pre-Olympics to ensure viewership and cash in on advertising revenue. Certainly, as the article points out, the publicity surrounding the Olympics, the politics, the protests, the athletes and the expectations, all contributed to the event’s success.

But the driving success factor was timing.

With the support of U.S. swimming star and Olympic legend Michael Phelps , Dick Ebersol , chairman of NBC sports, not only convinced China and the International Olympics Committee to propose an August start date, he influenced them to schedule the swimming and gymnastics events in the morning so they would air live on NBC primetime. 200 million viewers and more than $100 million later, NBC concluded coverage of what was one of the most watched and talked about sporting events in recent history.

The main lesson to be learned from NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics is not new. Timing is everything. The early date of the Olympics, which began August 8^th, meant school had not resumed. The weakened economy forced Americans to stay home and not vacation. The primetime coverage pulled in viewers and intrigued advertisers; many ran advertisements congratulating Phelps’ gold medals in the first commercial break following each victory.

When advertising online, especially in an e-commerce setting, advertisers should take advantage of timing to increase relevancy and decrease waste. Advertising where your consumers are most likely to buy is a cost-effective and powerful way to increase sales and promote positive branding. Just as Ebersol took advantage of a time when he knew viewers would be watching television to air Olympics coverage, advertisers should take advantage of online e-commerce applications to influence consumers where they are already going to buy.

Rachel

To read the entire article click here.

Most parents rejoice once the kids are off to school again but this usual occurs after the back to school errands are complete. New clothes, shoes, books, binders, pens, lunches, and snacks are just some of the many items parents purchase to get their kids ready to start the new school year. Who’s products are the buying? Well in an ideal world, yours. Companies make an investment when it comes to back to school advertising, it’s almost up there with the holiday season. So where do you start when building your advertising campaign? You have to go to where your target market is. What’s the point of launching newspaper print ads if your target market doesn’t read the paper? Targeting your message directly to your end users will enable success.

So let’s use Mom’s for our example. They are running around the last few weeks of summer getting their kids ready for school. How do you reach them with the products you want them to buy; the Internet. According to eMarketer, “40% of all women in the US who go online - some 35 million people - are mothers with children under 18 at home”. Moms are online everyday; a perfect way to send your message directly to them. The use of the Internet also increases once a child is born, “47% of women say that they go online more often once they have a child”.

Kids likes/dislikes change everyday and your business puts research, time, and money into new products that you know kids will want. Moms may not know what these are but that is where your advertisement comes to save the day and make these moms into Supermoms! Back to school advertising and the Internet has increased immensely, a Platform-A ADlytics Group study found that, “83% of back-to-school consumers are somewhat likely to seek in-store deals based on online promotions”. So get your message out there and be sure you’ve chosen the right media outlet to do so, remember if you’re targeting hearing impaired people it won’t be beneficial to run a radio advertisement

Cheers!
Courtney