• by David L. Smith , March 14, 2003

I know that we have had some bad times, but sometimes the press gets a little crazy. Google announces a new program featuring content–targeted ads. People suddenly become aware of a two-year old program from Primedia’s About.com called Sprinks, treating it as if it were a copycat of the Google program. I got more calls on this topic this week from the press than I have on any topic in months. “Is Google changing their strategy?” “Is this a panacea?”

Part of the confusion came from Google’s own release. This effort is, in effect, expanding their AdWords program of sponsored links to content rather than keywords. (Go to Google.com, search for any keyword and see the shaded boxes on the right under sponsored links). Yet nowhere in the release do they use the term AdWords. They talk about the service in generalities. The descriptions are good, but it is confusing. The knowledgeable know what AdWords are and would understand the release if that word were used. The unknowing see the word “ad” and immediately conjure up words and pictures.

Google’s strategy remains the same. Dominate contextual text-based advertising on the Web. They probably studied what Sprinks was doing with their own network. Primedia tested this with Yahoo and are now rolling out to many other sites like CNET, iVillage and Forbes.com. Google, in their own smart way, morphed their search technology to a new application. This does nothing to lessen the effectiveness of Sprinks. According to About, Sprinks links work better than regular keywords, with some clients getting a lift of 2.5 times vs. their keyword performance.

It makes sense. Context-sensitive advertising has always been where it is. If you were running an ad for a CD burner, you’d rather have it in Rolling Stone or Entertainment Weekly than in Woman’s Day. Part of this is demographic, part of this is lifestyle, and part of it is propinquity (right place, right time). But it has always been true that the right ad in the right place in any medium just plain works harder.

No question that the Google product, using its technology to find the content to put ads in and providing publishers a new income stream, is sexy.

But this kind of communication is NOT a panacea. This is one more step in a brick and mortar approach. It is a tool that has merit, just as does the Sprinks product from About and the expanded Ask Jeeves’ Site Submit and Index Express. Overture has also announced a product in this category and like keywords; every player will have an entry. All the same, advertisers will also produce rich media ads to best communicate their branding strategies.

There is evidence that links raise awareness, but they are not brand advertising, they are DR. Every company needs DR. The consumer goods companies have not traditionally been heavy participants in DR as they have mostly been sold through stores. But even that is changing. And the Web is becoming an increasingly important promotional aspect for them. The fact that links can raise awareness should not put a value on them that is equal to a rich media unit. Not all reach or all impressions are of the same communications quality. Save the branding emphasis for the EyeBlaster and Unicast messages.

Search remains hot. And now it has expanded. But don’t fire your art directors, designers and producers and give their cubes to DR writers just yet.

David L. Smith is President and CEO of Mediasmith, Inc.