Internet Strategies MKTG 340 Maureen O’Connor

Interactive Strategies consist of… 1. Commerce on the web – The activities involved with offering and selling products via the web 2. Information Sharing – The activities designed to build relationships and involvement between the brand and the consumer

Web commerce Key elements – Catalog/merchandise display – Shopping cart – Payment system, i.e. paypal – Customer service information – Advertising and promotions Key incentives – No or low shipping costs – Convenience – Special merchandise – entertainment

Information sharing Key tactics – Blogs Comments by consumers about a product or service Must be monitored by marketer to keep tabs on consumer sentiment to head off potential issues Marketer-generated blogs can sometimes work well as a way to gather important consumer information Nielsen Blogpulse

Information sharing (con’t) Social media (Facebook, Twitter) – Creates a platform for linking a brand to a wider social community – Message is distributed at no cost through a friend network, which has the added benefit of credibility – Early research shows that Facebook friends value brands pages that offer promotions or incentives – Offers immediate feedback

Information sharing, (con’t) – Is most effective when it relies on complex analytics ti understand what the consumer is doing on your website, and where the consumer is in the AIDA process – Can capture abandoned online shoppers with targeted approaches that lead to higher conversion rates – Provides alerts and reasons to visit a website – Is an important element in customer relationship management

Information sharing (con’t) Viral marketing – Creating a message about the product that the consumer finds entertaining or informative enough to pass along – generally through YouTube

Online advertising strategies Search engine optimization – Increasing the probability that your company will emerge at the top of a search. – Estimates say that 80% of web traffic begins with a search – Research shows that a company that comes up in the top 10 f a search will get 9 times the traffic – Google ad words is a paid search advertising provider. Can also use to buy display ads that come up following a search – On the following screen, the first three items in search and the display ads on the right column are purchased search engine advertising

Online advertising Brand spiralling – Using a variety of strategies to drive consumers to the media-rich website – Website is a source of commerce, information and entertainment – Creates a rich environment for brand experience (customization opportunities, interactive)

Alternative Advertising The imaginative edge of today’s advertising environment Generates impact, creates buzz Relies less on traditional media Works well for smaller companies with creative ideas but no budget

Alternative advertising Buzz marketing – Generating word of mouth through an organized strategy of engaging consumers to spread a message (Taco Bell World Series “hit a homerun here” campaign)

Alternative advertising Guerilla Marketing – The strategy of working with few resources in communicating narrowly with creative, interactive and often surprising, unexpected tactics. – Amplifies small budgets, can go viral – Volkswagen Fun Theory – Funtheory.com – Effies award winner: Chicago Field Museum

Alternative advertising Alternative venues – Product placements – Branded entertainment – Video games – Movie advertising – Transit (subways, escalators, inflight, parking lots) – Clothing – In-store (shopping carts, instore video, floor projections) – Brand communities (Harley Davidson)