• by Christopher M. Schroeder , July 2, 2004

For the past few weeks in this column, I have been examining the power of targeting in our media. I have suggested that CPMs matter because the click-through only measures a fraction of what Internet advertising offers. CPMs give credit to publishers for their well-proven success in building brands and driving off-line transactions. I have further suggested that as we are progressively in a direct and directed marketing world, we might all be agnostic between CPMs and CPAs some day because, over time, the ability to deliver and measure results will improve to where they are nearly one and the same.

You, my generous readers, have sent me dozens of superb emails pushing back on these discussions. Now I'd like to invite your opinions on a conundrum I cannot quite figure out, and will eagerly publish your reactions next week. Let me call this the "Reaching Executives Conundrum." And it goes like this:

Senior executives and business decisionmakers are among the most coveted groups that marketers want to reach. This is especially so in two of the hottest areas for online advertising today: travel and technology. We know that decision-making execs are online and congregate at quality sites-the research is clear here. And they are online at a time of day that no other medium can reach them-at work. Daytime is primetime for reaching senior executives.

But senior executives are almost by definition the hardest group to measure by traditional online advertising research. Even if your only measure is click-throughs (which I believe it never should be), senior executives almost by definition are not clicking through to make a purchasing decision.

Think about it. How often do executives book their own travel, or research procurement decisions? Others execute, but that doesn't mean the higher honchos aren't significantly influencing those decisions. And execs are clearly influenced by classic branding reminders about leg room, prices, services, capabilities, frequent flyer programs etc., and letting their folks know their preferences. How do you measure THAT influence and interaction?

And here the conundrum deepens. Because even if you buy my logic that the best way to reach senior executives is through smartly targeted branding, there is still no reliable way to measure it. When was the last time, do you think, that a senior decisionmaker in your organization was lured into completing a Dynamic Logic study?

One executive at OMD once told me he answers this through "latency." That by watching the latest traffic patterns over 30 or 60 days, he can assess more closely who is doing what and derive conclusions on who is being reached. I never understood this. To me, this just seems like a longer-term version of relying on the already described imperfect click-through.

Registration helps. Sites are beginning to ask users for job titles and pay ranges which certainly tell you something. Though it is a relatively small segment of publishers asking for such information, and there is always some drop-off for the "truth" factor.

Perhaps in the end, for all the power of measurability and accountability offered by online marketing, sometimes there is actually no substitute for good old common sense. After all, that is what traditional media has fundamentally relied on for years to reach senior executives. Quality media, viewed by quality audiences that offer specific value to senior executives means, well, senior executives are there. And each media company has tons of data to back this up. And marketers, for decades, have therefore taken a leap of faith that these must be good places to be.

So here is a call for parity! Sometimes, as Sigmund Freud once said, a "cigar is just a cigar!" Today, and even more over time, online publishers will be able to better know, measure and deliver to any demographic, than any other media. But the conundrum for senior executives puts us closer to traditional media in measurement for now. Judging the right sites accordingly, and as part of their over all media mix, smart marketers will be sure to reach these coveted decision makers early and often, and maximize the greatest returns on their investments.