In the traditional advertising channels, marketers use many different ways to promote their product and services. For example, they use TV, radio, direct mail, print and trade shows. However, now more than ever, online marketing becomes a very competitive environment. Online interactive advertising provide marketers more advantages than traditional advertising. As Seth Godin explained about opportunities for ad agencies, marketers should take advantage to use clever and new technique such as internet to help organizations since internet can build a reliable media platform.
Interactive advertising is the online advertising that can engage the customer in the brand to build brand equity. Compare to traditional advertising, online interactive advertising is inexpensive. Marketers can innovate on the web such as using Facebook to create their product pages. It is free. In addition, by using online advertising, marketer can target more audience than other media advertising. For example, marketers put interactive advertising on the social networking such as My Space and Facebook. These social networking have huge customer base. It will create good word of mouth affect rapidly. Moreover, online interactive advertising is a good tool to increase brand awareness and purchase intent. According to Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) (2002), higher online frequency boosts effective branding. For example, during the advertising campaign, the Personal Care’s Dove Nutrium Bar’s online impressions increased from six impressions to twelve impressions in six weeks. Overall it increased the effective branding by 45% (IAB, 2002). Online interactive advertising helps the company continue to build good relationships with their customers through very creative way. For example, the online interactive advertising of Nokia SMS racer created a buzz and interests among Nokia cell phone users; and people kept talking about it online which was great word of mouth effect.
Online interactive advertising also shows brand names and benefits. Customers can view the products in more positive way. For example, mobile advertising is a good example for online interactive advertising. Nowadays there are huge amount of people heavily rely on their mobile phones. They often use it for browsing online, playing games and chatting with their friends and business partners. As now mobile phones get into hand-held multimedia computers, people can make the world around them clickable. With people carry their favourite websites in their pockets, marketers are able to connect them wherever they go. Marketers can send new product information and updated services such as new product ads and special product offers directly to customers.
Overall, online interactive advertising is a brilliant advertising channel for brand building and value adding. It has many advantages for the business. Marketers can no longer afford to ignore it. In addition, by using the enhanced interactive online media platform, companies will be able to create new revenue opportunities.
