Eggs, baskets and digital avertising

Thoughts on digital advertising

Digital advertising is here to stay. It’s an important part of any company’s marketing communications mix and will be until the next marketing technology tool comes along. 

But before you dump all of your ad dollars into some form of digital media, it might be worthwhile reviewing a few facts and thoughts that come to us via Bob Hoffman’s new book, “Advertising For Skeptics.” (Available on Amazon.) 

One study showed that the eight kinds of advertising most disliked by consumers were all some form of digital advertising. Which could explain why between one and two billion computers, tablets and phones have ad blockers on them. 

In order to get five clicks, you have to run 10,000 ads – and 60 percent of those clicks are reported to be mistakes Only nine percent of digital ads are even noticed. 

This is a direct quote: “The idea that the same consumer who was gleefully clicking her remote to escape from TV ads is going to joyfully click her mouse to interact with online ads is going to go down as one of the great marketing fantasies of all time.” Think about it. 

With AdTech – as opposed to buying an online ad directly – you often don’t know where your ad may appear, except that the goal of AdTech is the most eyeballs on the cheapest websites possible. That could easily be on one of those “The Worst Plastic Surgery Mistakes Ever” sites. 

And this comes from the Wall Street Journal: In 2017, Proctor & Gamble cut more than $100 million from its digital marketing spend in the second quarter with little impact on its business.

Of course, new privacy requirements from Apple are going to hamper re-targeting strategies. A lot.

Drive business is the thing for hotels and resort right now. So outdoor, local and cable television, radio, local media outlets and direct digital buys on local or regional websites make a lot of sense. 

Digital advertising isn’t going anywhere and any hotel or resort that doesn’t employ it is making a mistake. But in light of these limitations, perhaps it makes sense to not put all of our budget eggs in that digital basket. 

Just some food for thought.

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At the taffy stand

On the boardwalk.

It's like walking down a boardwalk and finding your way to the salt-water taffy stand.  

What was it that got you there? Or what combination of things? The signage? The aroma as you went past? Someone you saw with a box? Maybe an ad or poster you saw?

Now you understand the concept of a journey map and full-path attribution.The journey map is that walk down the boardwalk. Full-path attribution is the combination of signage, scents and ads that created your desire for some taffy. Which is to say, it wasn't necessarily just the last thing you saw. 

This is how that your hotel or resort is like salt-water taffy: If you identify your targets' journey map and understand the different things that influence them along the way, you can make better use of your marketing dollars. Because it's not just the last thing a prospective guest saw that created their desire for your property. 

Which is to say, it wasn't necessarily just that last click. Even though digital channels will usually claim credit for the booking. 

In fact, a branded search - search for your property, not just properties in your neighborhood - has a far, far higher conversion rate then non-branded searches. And the parts of the journey map that can incite a branded search are what did the trick. 

In fact, it's never that simple.

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