Commentary

Click-Through

Are there two words that evoke more emotion in the world of online media than these two?

This action performed by a Web reader lies at the equator that separates media buyers from media sellers. And the more it gets talked about, the hotter the topic gets.

The difference in perspective regarding click-through starts with the difference between online ads that ask, "Guess whose eyes these are" and the home page fixed positions brilliantly negotiated on behalf of Samsung.

It comes down to a simple question of a pull versus a push.

Maggie Boyer, formerly of Avenue A, taught me how important it was not to wrestle control out of the hands of the user, but rather guide them to the desired destination.

Yet most online campaigns do not appear to have a creative strategy that guides to click- through. It has become an "either or" decision. Either the ads reach out and pull a reader by their thumbs to an advertiser's destination, or the ad does not creatively ask a reader to click-through at all, but rather entices them to view their brand's message within a dynamic format.

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Occasionally, a promotional campaign like the one from Diet Pepsi that ran on Yahoo! the day the Oscar nominations were announced accomplished both goals. They had a fixed position on the home page, and when a reader clicked on Yahoo's editorial coverage of the Oscar nominations, the reader landed on a page well decorated by Diet Pepsi and included a list of all of the nominees.

The Diet Pepsi ad units guided readers to click-through by announcing the opportunity to be on the red carpet for the 2006 Oscar ceremonies. Of course, once you clicked, the casual guiding nature of the ad morphs into a mugging for your contact information, and the appearance that you must agree to accept promotional e-mails in order to enter the contest.

Many buyers and publishers I speak to say the importance of click-through has diminished significantly over the past few years. Personally, I think it is hibernating until it can rise up and further devour the value of an ad expression.

But if at this time, buyers for brand-oriented clients have a take it or leave it attitude about click-through, why not try a new approach that treats a click-through as a an honor a reader has bestowed on the advertiser, and not an opportunity to kidnap them.

I tried launching an initiative that had readers who clicked on ads first land on a co-branded page that read "Thank you for clicking." The page then gave the reader three options, which included clicking over to the advertiser's site, sending an e-mail to the company, or signing up to receive coupons and promotions. In addition, a clearly labeled button would return the reader back to where they came from.

This initiative never got off the ground however, because our sales team felt it would do more harm than good in the eyes of our clients at the time.

Publishers tend to have more respect for reader attention because their business is built upon the collection and nurturing of this commodity. That's why so many publishers have pushed back on pop-up advertising, and would tell you privately they hate caving to the pressures to sell overlays and other ad units intended to "blast the eyes" of their readers.

Media buyers on the other hand, look at consumers as "targets," and therein lies the difference in how click-through is interpreted and postured by sellers of consumer attention and those who purchase it.

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