• by Staff Writers , October 10, 2007

The best paid search campaigns require as much sophistication and creativity as initiatives in TV, radio or other traditional platforms.

Acronym Media

SAP (Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing)

Acronym: Anton Konikoff, CEO; Selina Aggarwal, Vice President, Chief Search Strategist; Stephanie Hart, Account Director; Jenny Hart, Search Engine Optimization Manager; David Sprinkle, Paid Search Manager.

In august 2006, sap, the world's largest business software company, asked Acronym Media to accelerate online lead generation in order to meet and exceed 2006-2007 corporate goals.

Acronym identified and deployed keyword lists and targeted ad copy based on phrases most relevant to the IT industry and the geographic region in each distinct campaign. To ensure the highest return on investment, the agency focused on achieving the lowest possible cost per inquiry by crafting ad copy targeting high-value prospects.

The paid search campaign led to a 61 percent increase in the number of visitors from organic search, and more than doubled organic traffic to the inquiry pages of the SAP site. Visitors coming via paid search were also 34 percent more likely to engage with the SAP brand than regular Web site traffic.

Fallon Worldwide

Sci Fi Channel/ Eureka Series Launch

Sci Fi Channel: Blake Callaway, Vice President, Brand Marketing; Kim Volonakis, Manager; Dana Ortiz, Director; Adam Stotsky, Senior Vice President; Mozhgan Setoodeh, Coordinator.

Fallon: Amy Sheil, Group Media Director; Rocky Novak, Media Supervisor; Amber Paukner, Media Planner; Kylee Decker, Media Planner; Horizon Media (HMI) Ben Johnson, Broadcast Buying Supervisor.

With eureka, the Sci Fi channel sought to reach a wider audience by creating what it calls "sci fi lite" to counter the stigma that science fiction is all about aliens, spaceships and blackholes, and to compete with popular shows like "Heroes" and "Lost." Fallon's strategy was to spark curiosity about Eureka's premise: a town populated by geniuses. To this end, they created mock Direct Response TV spots selling products that Eureka's geniuses might have invented.

The effort included a "keyword hijack" search marketing campaign in which high-tech terms including "iPod" delivered Eureka-flavored results such as "eyePod Spy Satellite."

The results: Eureka set a record as the highest-rated sci-fi show ever. 3 million new viewers came to the network in the first four weeks of Eureka's run.

Sitewire

The Irvine Company

Apartment Communities, Woodbury Court

Sitewire: Jay Feitlinger, Senior Account Supervisor; Elif Affan, Account Manager; Brent Hartman, Account Executive; Andrea Beltran, Senior Media Planner.

Irvine Apt. Communities: Nicole Conniff, Director of Marketing.

Irvine Apartment Communities (IAC) operates Woodbury Court, a total of 408 one- and two-bedroom apartments in North Irvine, California. Eighty-five apartments in Woodbury Court were vacant, so IAC hired Sitewire to boost rentals between February 2006 and November 2007. Sitewire created a promotional microsite for Woodbury Court. Apartment seekers were enticed to complete a survey on the timing of their move - essential information for Sitewire's future campaigns - in return for a coupon for a month's free rent. The next tactic was an optimized press release embedded with relevant keyword phrases, since search engines pick up effectively optimized, time-sensitive news releases much more quickly than they pick up optimized Web sites. The release mentioned the new community and the coupon offer and included hyperlinks to the microsite.

The Sitewire campaign for IAC resulted in 14 new apartment rentals, and the pay-per-click marketing efforts drove over 2,000 visitors to the microsite.