Getting into the click takes time

Consistent exposure of a brand appears the key to gaining public awareness and acceptance, writes IRENE CHAPPLE.

Companies are learning how to capture internet surfers' attention, despite continued uncertainty over the value of online advertising.

Campaigns using innovative, internet-specific quirks are showing results.

And research from masters student Guy Mullarkey is giving hope to the effectiveness of online campaigns.

He has found that net users do remember online advertisements, even if they claim not have clicked into the link.

Like television, online advertising is beginning to build brand awareness and associations among experienced net users.

Mr Mullarkey works at the department of marketing at the University of Auckland's Business School and for the past year, he and Professor Peter Danaher have researched online advertising.

Their key finding was a positive correlation between advertising recall and time on a web page - a logical conclusion perhaps, but the two say it means advertisers should focus on the internet as an exposure medium rather than simply judging the response.

Their research shows advertisement recall is not affected by background detail or text on the pages - or even other, smaller advertisements on the page.

And net surfers were found to recall more ads than those going to a site for a specific purpose - much like the effect advertising has on television couch potatoes because internet advertising can be seen as a similar medium, they say.

The research shows the net can be used to build memory for products and brands in a similar fashion to television advertising.

But most online advertising is passive, particularly since TV style advertising can annoy viewers if it takes time to download.

Professor Danaher says the web has, until now, been thought of only in terms of response rate.

"A focus on exposure may be more realistic and beneficial," he says.

"One could, for example, advertise a new car on a relevant page on an automotive site. This may generate memory, like a television ad, that may affect choice in the future."

Although click-through rates are generally low, that doesn't mean the ad hasn't worked, he says. The brand connection is built through time.

"The adage 'it doesn't happen overnight, but it will happen' is being acknowledged," says Mr Mullarkey.

"Advertisers have based beliefs in an instant response on expectation rather than good reasoning."

He sees the internet's advertising future in exposure tactics, with a component of direct response, such as television's infomercials.

Pop-up advertising is not popular, says Mr Mullarkey. Although it captures the browser's attention, it is not expected and often unwelcome.

On television, he says, ad breaks are expected and a viewer can reach for the mute button.

Land Transport Safety Authority communications manager Desiree Keown agrees. Late last year, the authority ran a successful two month campaign promoting car safety.

Ms Keown is a self-confessed cynic about internet advertising. Her arm was twisted before she agreed to an internet campaign.

"Internet advertising can be intrusive and annoying, but we got away with it because ours was charming and fun."

The brief to Wellington advertising agency Clemenger BBDO was to let car buyers know crash test results were available on the LTSA website. The budget was just under $30,000.

Clemenger created what it claims is a world first advertising format.

When viewers entered a relevant page, for example an online publisher's motoring site, the cursor became a cartoon car.

It crashed and shook the screen when the viewer drove the cursor along the left-hand menu bar, which research showed was a likely place a user would go.

A cube then appeared, encouraging users to link through to the LTSA site and view its results for car safety. Negotiations with site owners - XtraMSN, Autos and More, Stuff Motoring and AutoPoint - was tough, says Clemenger s associate media director Sean McCready.

Publishers were concerned the ad would annoy site visitors so a frequency cap was installed.

Visitors to the page were exposed to the advertisement about once every five times, says Ms Keown.

The campaign's success was judged on click-throughs - appropriate because the LTSA is not trying to push a brand or sell product, she says.

For November, there was an 8 per cent increase in click-throughs to the LTSA site from the Stuff site.

Air New Zealand is also turning to the internet as a marketing tool. It has used online advertising for around five years but the cheap internet-only fares now running are its first foray into pure e-ticketing.

The budget fare-bookers deal with a human only if there is a problem, and then they call the standard 0800 line, says marketing manager Mike Pepper. "We wanted to convert lookers into bookers," he says.

Online advertising spend still takes only 0.5 per cent of total advertising spend - around $1.7 billion last year - despite solid campaigns costing as little as $10,000.

A continuing problem in New Zealand is access to reliable consumer information.

Online publishers meet frequently to discuss how best to give media buyers advice on efficient consumer targeting.

The talks were given impetus last year when eRatings.com discarded its NZ office and announced it would wind down the people-meter research panel.

Mark Ottaway, general manager of Wilson and Horton Interactive which runs nzherald.co.nz, says online publishers say they will have a solution to the gap in media buying information by October.

Meanwhile, eye-catching - but not irritating - campaigns, with consistent brand exposure appear key to saving a struggling market.