January 16, 2007

In today's competitive online marketplace, planning multimedia advertising campaigns is far more complex than it used to be just a few short years ago. However, media planners would still much prefer to keep things as simple as they can.

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Overall, when it comes to the Internet advertising portion of their budgets, they buy PPC advertising on Google, Yahoo and a few other marketing Web sites and that's about it for the most part.

On average, Merrill Lynch expects that both search marketing and branded advertising will grow on the Internet for 2008, up 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

However, continuing to place the majority of online ad dollars on large Web sites could be a very costly mistake says Merrill Lynch. Large, particularly on the Web, may not be better.

When brand managers and media planners are evaluating where to place their online ads, they should never ignore smaller sites that generate less traffic, according to new research from Media-Screen.

The "Netpop-Response" study found that smaller sites are indispensable to consumers, and that they provide a newer way for brands to position ads where users want to see them most.

As a whole, interest in the products and brands advertised on smaller sites is greater than on larger sites. According to the study, about 42 percent of Web sites with less than one million unique visitors a month advertise products of relevant interest to their viewers, as compared to 39 percent of sites with more than one million visitors.

The difference may be small, but for savvy advertisers looking for a competitive edge, it's worth exploring further. "Overall, online consumers have gained control over the Internet content they consume and advertisers simply need to adjust their strategies to match these changes," said Josh Crandall of Media-Screen.

"By advertising on smaller sites (those that consumers are visiting based on their personal interests) companies can reach a highly engaged consumer with a specific (read relevant) message that relates to a subject that is important to them," added Crandall.

Internet advertisers and marketers should seriously consider placing at least a portion of their Internet ad budgets aside for experimenting with niche site placements.

"On average, search engines are a driving force behind these trends, enabling broadbanders to venture beyond the major brands to the niche sites they previously never knew existed," said Cate Riegner of Media-Screen.

"On a typical day, 62 percent of Web sites that respondents mention get less than one million unique visitors," says Riegner.

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Source: eMarketer