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Online promotion differs from online advertising in the same way that traditional advertising differs from public relations. Advertising specialises in utlising paid space as a vehicle for advertisements that have been designed specifically for the particular client/ brand. Promotion on the other hand uses a variety of paid and unpaid techniques which often work to build credibility for a brand.
Site design and navigation, editorial content (on the organisation’s site, as well as cross promotion and/or a media campaign targeting online authorities in related fields similar to an offline media campaign), sponsorships, competitions, giveaways and integrated online/offline campaigns are all designed (in effective websites) to work together, complementing each other and to ensure not only return traffic to an e-tailers site, but to ensure consistent brand messages are sent to consumers.
Carefully planned site design and navigation are crucial to the success of a website. There is little value in an exciting banner ad that clicks through to a site that a consumer finds unattractive, inappropriate, or impossible to navigate through.
An online promotional plan works in the same way a traditional offline plan does. However there is one key difference: in the online market, the boundaries are constantly expanding, and a good promoter needs to be aware of the latest advances in order to sucessfully utilise them. For example, RSS (Really Simple Syndication/ Rich Site Summary) was unheard of a year or two ago, but is now extensively utilised by promoters, advertisers and public relations specialists world wide.
"We all love to be entertained, and smart web developers use this basic fact to keep visitors happy and returning" (Miletsky, 2002). Online games and entertianment assist in gaining return traffic, and offer companies a way to immerse consumers in theur brand in a pleasant way. For example in 2001 BMW hosted a number of short movies featuring their cars, that were only available from the BMW website. The movies, directed by and starring Hollywood stars, gained notoriety and a cult following, and helped launch the career of actor and stunt driver Jason Statham, who starred in each. BMW understood its target audience, knew that they were liekly to have access to broadband connection, and gained positive publicity that far outweighed the cost of producing the movies. Equally, online competitions and flash based games give consumers a reason to return to a site, and offer companies a unique, positive branding opportunity.
Miletsky, J. (2002) Planning, Developing and Marketing Successful Websites. Boston: Thomson.
Stephanie Hulett 04:06, 28 Oct 2005 (EST)
