Angie Becker moves to the web
Serious efforts by online marketers for generic marketing
Serious efforts by online marketers for generic marketingBy Stefano Monachesi Media Focus attributes only 0.35 percent of the Swiss advertising pie to banner advertising. A worryingly low figure for a medium used by half the population. Online marketers have recognized the signs of the times: With a German-style campaign, they want to remind advertisers of the massive reach of the Internet. And that is supposed to be just the beginning of joint generic marketing.
In Germany, eleven providers and marketers of online advertising space have taken the initiative. At the end of August, they launched a banner campaign that uses testimonials to highlight the Internet's strong reach. Anyone who clicks on one of the banners is directed to the website of the Online Marketing Düsseldorf trade fair. The trade show on October 1 and 2 marks the end of the campaign, which is also supported by ads in the industry press.
The participating marketers AOL, Bauer Media, Gruner+Jahr EMS, GWP Online Marketing, Interactive Media, IP Newmedia, Quality Channel, SevenOne Interactive, Tomorrow Focus, Web .de, and Yahoo! are providing around 300 ad impressions worth EUR 6 million.
Here in Germany, generic marketing has so far only been carried out sporadically by individual marketers on their own. Yet an organization for online advertising would have been in place for a long time: The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), which has been functioning as a working group of the Swiss Interactive Media and Software Association (Simsa) since June 2001.
The German campaign has now shaken up the IAB. At the end of August, Martin Radelfinger, chairman of the Simsa/IAB working group and CEO of marketer Adlink, discussed with René Schmutz, director of the AG für Werbemedienforschung (Wemf), whether a similar campaign would be feasible on the data basis of the new MA Net. With success: "Within a few weeks" a Swiss version of the German generic marketing campaign would be launched, Radelfinger revealed to WerbeWoche.
It will closely follow the German model. The IAB has reached an agreement with the Munich advertising agency Q AG that the concept and creation may be adopted from the north. This includes a focus on reach under the claim "Every second person is online. Your advertising isn't?". However, the testimonials will be re-photographed in Switzerland. The campaign runs under the umbrella of Simsa and IAB in cooperation with Wemf. Behind it are the online marketers and brokers Active Agent and Media Agent, Adlink, Publicitas Web Services and Publimedia Webadvertising.
Simsa/IAB is planning even more marketing measures
Advertising on the Internet has been in crisis since the summer of 2001. Why did it take a year for the industry to agree on coordinated generic marketing? For Reto Hartinger, Head of Marketing at Search .ch, one thing is clear: "There has been no generic marketing in Switzerland so far, because online marketers have always been very divided." They had discussed with each other, but nothing had come to fruition. Before its integration into Simsa, Search.ch was a member of the IAB. Hartinger: "We paid a lot of dues for it, but absolutely nothing happened!"
In fact, in August 2001, after the integration, the IAB had presented a plan with information events for advertisers, agencies and journalists. An Online Advertising Award was planned as the highlight. According to Radelfinger, a campaign was also discussed, which was to prove the high regard for the Internet with accompanying research. However, this plan went down without a sound. "The consolidation of the industry got in the way," Radelfinger explains the reasons.
With closures, restructuring and mergers, the industry was very busy with itself. "That's why the decision was made in the IAB that the timing was unfavorable, and we postponed the measures."
Now the time seems ripe again for a strong commitment. The Simsa/ IAB reach campaign based on the German model is to be just the first step. Under the auspices of the electronic media interest group (Igem), Radelfinger says the idea of an "online version of Angie Becker" is also being revived to demonstrate the advertising effectiveness of the Web. Even the Online Advertising Award is in the pipeline again.
This means that the Swiss web marketers should soon have overtaken the German model. According to press spokeswoman Nadia Elias, this is the first time that "the premier league of German online marketers has come together for a large-scale campaign." Until now, there has been no industry organization. That's about to change: "We're in the process of forming," says Elias with a smile, "give us some more time!"
In Germany, eleven providers and marketers of online advertising space have taken the initiative. At the end of August, they launched a banner campaign that uses testimonials to highlight the Internet's strong reach. Anyone who clicks on one of the banners is directed to the website of the Online Marketing Düsseldorf trade fair. The trade show on October 1 and 2 marks the end of the campaign, which is also supported by ads in the industry press.
The participating marketers AOL, Bauer Media, Gruner+Jahr EMS, GWP Online Marketing, Interactive Media, IP Newmedia, Quality Channel, SevenOne Interactive, Tomorrow Focus, Web .de, and Yahoo! are providing around 300 ad impressions worth EUR 6 million.
Here in Germany, generic marketing has so far only been carried out sporadically by individual marketers on their own. Yet an organization for online advertising would have been in place for a long time: The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), which has been functioning as a working group of the Swiss Interactive Media and Software Association (Simsa) since June 2001.
The German campaign has now shaken up the IAB. At the end of August, Martin Radelfinger, chairman of the Simsa/IAB working group and CEO of marketer Adlink, discussed with René Schmutz, director of the AG für Werbemedienforschung (Wemf), whether a similar campaign would be feasible on the data basis of the new MA Net. With success: "Within a few weeks" a Swiss version of the German generic marketing campaign would be launched, Radelfinger revealed to WerbeWoche.
It will closely follow the German model. The IAB has reached an agreement with the Munich advertising agency Q AG that the concept and creation may be adopted from the north. This includes a focus on reach under the claim "Every second person is online. Your advertising isn't?". However, the testimonials will be re-photographed in Switzerland. The campaign runs under the umbrella of Simsa and IAB in cooperation with Wemf. Behind it are the online marketers and brokers Active Agent and Media Agent, Adlink, Publicitas Web Services and Publimedia Webadvertising.
Simsa/IAB is planning even more marketing measures
Advertising on the Internet has been in crisis since the summer of 2001. Why did it take a year for the industry to agree on coordinated generic marketing? For Reto Hartinger, Head of Marketing at Search .ch, one thing is clear: "There has been no generic marketing in Switzerland so far, because online marketers have always been very divided." They had discussed with each other, but nothing had come to fruition. Before its integration into Simsa, Search.ch was a member of the IAB. Hartinger: "We paid a lot of dues for it, but absolutely nothing happened!"
In fact, in August 2001, after the integration, the IAB had presented a plan with information events for advertisers, agencies and journalists. An Online Advertising Award was planned as the highlight. According to Radelfinger, a campaign was also discussed, which was to prove the high regard for the Internet with accompanying research. However, this plan went down without a sound. "The consolidation of the industry got in the way," Radelfinger explains the reasons.
With closures, restructuring and mergers, the industry was very busy with itself. "That's why the decision was made in the IAB that the timing was unfavorable, and we postponed the measures."
Now the time seems ripe again for a strong commitment. The Simsa/ IAB reach campaign based on the German model is to be just the first step. Under the auspices of the electronic media interest group (Igem), Radelfinger says the idea of an "online version of Angie Becker" is also being revived to demonstrate the advertising effectiveness of the Web. Even the Online Advertising Award is in the pipeline again.
This means that the Swiss web marketers should soon have overtaken the German model. According to press spokeswoman Nadia Elias, this is the first time that "the premier league of German online marketers has come together for a large-scale campaign." Until now, there has been no industry organization. That's about to change: "We're in the process of forming," says Elias with a smile, "give us some more time!"
