Monday, August 8, 2011

Impressions vs. click-throughs – Which matters most?

I can certainly appreciate the value of a distinct branding campaign that clearly identifies a brand’s value and ultimately the “promise”.  However, when it comes to banner advertising, sometimes, defining the need first is most effective. 

Banner 1 – Responds to a need
  

Banner 2 – Respond to a need after you’ve 
established trust through a recognized brand.
 






Now the argument in these articles is “do we measure with analytics (click throughs) or should we focus on the branding impressions? Unless you're neck deep into tracking online analytics you're probably thinking what the heck is a branding impression. It's actually easier to understand than you might think.

First, think about the "impression" part. Every time a user has a chance to simply look at your ad its considered an impression (most pay-per-click campaign managers report on both). Branding, is well - just that - it's that familiar image or phrase that conveys your promise and connects with the consumer. 

If the objective is to raise awareness of the brand, then impression metrics are more valuable, in my opinion.  However, if point-of-purchase is the objective, then perhaps a needs based banner ad strategy is better suited.  I really don’t think one approach is more important than the other.  I believe it’s really about objective of the advertiser. 

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