INMA_A01.QXD

Campaign response mechanics

Digital media have increased the choice of response mechanisms. We will look at online

and offline response mechanisms that need to be considered for both online and offline

campaign media. Reviewing response mechanisms is important since too narrow may

limit response, but too broad and unfocused may not give the right types of response –

marketers need to emphasise the response types most favourable to the overall success of

the campaign. Policies for response mechanism across campaigns should be specified by

managers to ensure the right approach is used across all campaigns.

Figure 8.8 suggests the typical option of outcomes to online campaign media. From

the creative such as a display ad, pay-per-click ad or rented e-mail newsletter, there are

four main options.

(a) Home page

In the majority of cases, investment in online media will be wasted if visitors are driven

from the media siteto the home page of the destination web site. Typically it is appeal-

ing to many audiences and offering too much choice – it won’t effectively reinforce the

message of the online creative or convert to further action.

(b) Microsite / landing page

A focused landing page or specially created microsite can more effectively convert visitors

to the action to help gain a return on the online campaign investment. A URL strategyis

used to make the page easy to label in offline creative. This specifies how different types

of content on a site will be placed in different folders or directories of a web site (this can

also help with search engine optimisation). For example, if you visit the BBC site

(www.bbc.co.uk) look at how the web address details vary as you move from one section

to another such as News or Sport. An individual destination page on a web site may be

labelled, for example, http://www.company.com/products/insurance/car-insurance. A further

example is where site owners have to make a decision how to refer to content in different

countries – either in the form:

http://<country-name>.<company-name>.com

or the more common

http://www.<companyname.com>.com/<country-name>

CHAPTER 8· INTERACTIVE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Figure 8.8Range of response mechanisms from online media

Offline:

phone, post,

store

Personal

(chat or

callback)

Microsite/

landing

page

Online

media

creative

Home

page

(a) Viewthrough

(b) Clickthrough

Media site
Typical location where
paid-for ads are placed.

Destination web site
Site typically owned by
a retailer or
manufacturer brand
which users are
encouraged to click
through to.

URL strategy
A defined approach to
how content is labelled
through placing it in
different directories or
folders with distinct
web addresses.