Campaign URLs or CURLsare commonly used today, the idea being that they will be
more memorable than the standard company address and blend in with the campaign
concept. For example, an insurer used the CURL http://www.quotemehappy.com, a mortgage
provider http://www.hateyourmortgage.comand a phone company http://www.sleeptomorrow.com,
which are memorable elements of the campaign.(c) Personal (chat or callback)
In this case the creative or the landing page encourages campaign respondents to ‘talk’
directly with a human operator. It is usually referred to as a ‘callback service’ and inte-
grates web and phone. Buttons or hyperlinks encourage a callback from a telephone
operator or an online chat. The advantage of this approach is that it engages the cus-
tomer more and will typically lead to a higher conversion-to-sale since the customer’s
questions and objections are more likely to be answered and the personal engagement is
more likely to encourage a favourable impression.(d) Offline: phone, post or store
Because part of a campaign is run online does not mean that offline responses should be
excluded. Offline response mechanisms should not be discarded unless the cost of man-
aging them cannot be justified, which is rarely the case. Figure 8.9 gives an example of
best practice offering a range of response mechanisms.Offline response mechanism
We also need to include the right response mechanism for the offline media element of
the campaigns such as TV ads, print ads or direct-mail pieces. The permission-based web
response model(Hughes, 1999) is one that is frequently used today in direct marketing
(Chapter 6). For example, this process could start with a direct mail drop or offline
advert. The web site is used as the direct response mechanism, hence ‘web response’.
Ideally, this approach will use targeting of different segments. For example, a
Netherlands bank devised a campaign targeting six different segments based on age and
income. The initial letter was delivered by post and contained a PIN (personal identifica-
tion number) which had to be typed in when the customer visited the site. The PIN had
the dual benefit that it could be used to track responses to the campaign, while at the
same time personalising the message to the consumer. When the PIN was typed in, a
‘personal page’ was delivered for the customer with an offer that was appropriate to their
particular circumstances.As was mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, an interactive marketing commu-
nications plan usually has three main goals:(1) Use online and offline communications to drive or attract visitor traffic to a web
site. This process is commonly referred to as ‘traffic building’.
Examples of SMARTtraffic building objectives:OBJECTIVES AND MEASUREMENT FOR INTERACTIVE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONSCampaign URL or
CURL
A web address specific
to a particular
campaign.
Web callback
service
A facility available on
the web site for a
company to contact a
customer at a later
time as specified by the
customer.
Web response
model
The web site is used as
a response mechanism
for offline campaign
elements such as
direct mail or
advertising.
Objectives and measurement for interactive marketing
communications
Traffic building
Using online and offline
site promotion
techniques to generate
visitors to a site.
SMART
Specific, Measurable,
Actionable, Relevant
and Time-related.