Figure 8.12 shows an example of effectiveness measures for an online ad campaign for
an insurance product. Here an opportunity or lead is when a quote is requested. Note
that the cost of acquisition is high, but this does not take into account the synergies of
online advertising with offline campaigns, i.e. those who are influenced by the ad, but
do not click through immediately.
Objective setting and measurement for non-transactional sites
Often, it is only the e-retailers who have data on the full range of measures in Figure
8.12 since this is essential for proving the ROI of online marketing campaigns such as
display ads or pay-per-click search. If there are no products available for sale online, such
as a luxury car manufacturer or a high-value B2B service offering white paper down-
loads, then it is less clear how to calculate ROI.
To get the most from campaigns which don’t result in sale online and optimise their
effectiveness, it is essential to put a value or points score on different outcomes, for
example in the case of the car manufacturer, values could be assigned to brochure
requests (5 points or £20), demonstration drive requests (20 points or £100) or simply
visits to the site involving reviewing product features information (1 point or £1).
Through knowing the average percentage of online brochure requests or demo drive
requests that convert to sales and the average order value for customers referred from the
web site, then the value of these on-site outcomes can be estimated. This is only an esti-
mate, but it can help inform campaign optimisation, by showing which referring sites,
creative or PPC keywords generate desirable outcomes.
OBJECTIVES AND MEASUREMENT FOR INTERACTIVE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Figure 8.12An example of effectiveness measures for an online ad campaign
REACH of e-communications
Attraction
efficiency
Results
21,700,000 Ad impressions
Web site VISITS
Site conversion
efficiency
50,000
Clicks (approximately equivalent
to visitors)
LEADs or opportunities generated
Lead conversion
efficiency
16,700 Opportunity response
Number of OUTCOMES delivered 1,770 Sales
£395.58 Cost per sale (CPS)
£700,000 Media cost
£14.00 Cost per Click (CPC)
£41.92 Cost per opportunity (CPO)
0.23% Clickthrough rate
£32.26 Cost per mille/thousand (CPM/CPT)
33.40% Conversion rate (Click to quote)
10.60% Conversion rate (opportunity to sale)