Saturday, October 25, 2008

Banner Ads & Proximity Marketing (what I didn't know)

I’m finishing up week one of this course and I have already learned many new things about new media. I’ve learned more about some types of new media that I’m somewhat familiar with and I’ve also been exposed to forms of media that I really wasn’t aware of at all. I’d like to give examples of both. Banner ads are something that I’m familiar with but week one gave me some new insight into them. Bluetooth/proximity marketing is something that I wasn’t familiar with at all but I definitely see a lot of potential for it. Let me expand on both topics a bit more.

BANNER ADS
I chose this as the most effective type of new media, partially because I do think they are effective and partially because I simply didn’t know enough about the other forms of media (Bluetooth, widgets, RSS, etc.) to make a judgment about them. In terms of banner ads I feel that they can accomplish a lot from both a brand awareness and direct marketing perspective. Our professor Dr. Ramos, responded to my discussion post this week with the concept of floating ads which are basically moving banner ads. I’ve seen these before, I just didn’t know what they were called.

These types of floating ads have high click through rates which is great for direct marketing purposes. The question is – do people find them intrusive? I would say if used moderately then probably not, however if a web site constantly has floating ads flying around then I think that would be a turn-off to consumers. If I was a media outlet selling floating ads I would demand a high price for them and in return grant the advertiser some type of exclusive arrangement for floating ads for the particular time period. Floating ads do break through the clutter and generate a high click-through rate which is what many advertisers are striving for. Floating ads also create an additional revenue stream for media outlets since they don’t take the place of existing banner advertising space, they just add to it.

BLUETOOTH/PROXIMITY MARKETING
Some of my classmates ranked this type of marketing as one of the least effective forms of new media types. Quite honestly, I really wasn’t even sure of what it was until I started reading some of my classmates’ posts. As one of my classmates, Stephanie, described, “Proximity marketing is marketing communications that delivers content to a specified area. Communication can be received by consenting individuals and can be found in heavy tourist locations and some realtors even use the ‘talking house’ where drivers can tune into a specified station to hear recorded information” (IMC 619).

Although some of my classmates thought the lack of reach for this type of media was limited, I feel that for the right product this type of marketing can be very beneficial. The talking house concept is interesting because it allows home buyers to receive information about houses from their car radio as they drive by the house. From a marketing standpoint this is great, because you are able to deliver specific and relevant messages about the product (the home) to consumers at the opportune time. I see a lot of potential for this type of new media. Through my research I realize that Bluetooth technology is at the forefront of proximity marketing but also with some controversy regarding permission to send people messages. Some argue that Bluetooth marketing is somewhat like receiving spam that you can’t control. As Pearse states “Bluetooth marketing has become one of the most controversial aspects of mobile marketing. As messages are broadcast to everyone who has Bluetooth turned on within range of the transmitter, many believe it can never be truly opt-in” (Pearse, 2005). The issue of permission guidelines surrounding Bluetooth and proximity marketing is one that I hope to learn more about during the next nine weeks of my New Media course.

- Patrick

References
IMC 619 Discussion Board Posts Week One

Pearse, Justin. (2005, November 24). MMA Issues Bluetooth Marketing Warning. New Media Age.

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