• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, October 16, 2015

Coming into the strategy or media briefing with the correct questions at the beginning of the process should remain top priority for search marketers. While starting campaigns with a budget that allows the brand to reach its goal, marketers should also think about practical applications and the campaign's roadmap. Does remarketing make sense, and should messages serve up on the smartphone's home screen? 

Ah, not a reality today, but it's possible with a little collaboration between platforms. This morning Google Now served me an advertisement for music from Brooks & Dunn, along with a reminder of my forthcoming flight to Miami. It also served daily stock prices, meetings scheduled, and articles I might have an interest in reading. The information -- some of which pulls from different phone applications like Gmail and Calendar -- serves in what Google calls Cards, which users can swipe away to the right after reading.

Obviously, Google pulled concert ticket information from Gmail to know I like Books & Dunn. Click on "Learn more" under the advertisement to find yourself on google.com with a long list of the country band's related music.

Frankly, I would rather have this information behind my locked iPhone's home screen, rather than Google's iPhone search engine app. We're getting closer to this scenario. Earlier in October during an interview with Fieldy Arvizu, Korn's bass player, I learned THAT he wants American Express to bring information like account balances to the home screen on the mobile phone.

As Kalyan Nanduru, senior program manager of Microsoft Bing Ads, explains how remarketing becomes a second chance to engage visitors after they left the brand's Web site. The company announced Thursday Bing remarketing. Research from WordStream shows consumers don’t mind seeing remarketing ads, as long as they pertain to their interests, and they didn't look online for the item and buy it in the store.

Some believe marketers should have more than two. "Weird thing about remarketing -- conversion rates increase with more ad impressions," jokes WordStream Founder and CTO Larry Kim. He told SearchBlog it doubles. "Many people in marketing say 'don't be creepy. It's like stalking,' but it gives marketers more chances to connect with consumers."

People are busy. Ad-targeting patterns don't necessarily match the moment the consumer sees the message. Kim suggests setting membership duration in Bing Ads remarking pool for as long as it seems feasible without overkill.