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Display ads alive, kicking and still making money

DUBAI - Although many marketers are under the impression that display advertising is a dying form, recent studies and its abundance on the Web state otherwise, a senior digital marketing consultant has said.

Husam Jandal of WSI, a multinational digital marketing company, said that display advertising accounted for around $5 billion in online advertising spend in 2009, which is a “good amount” (www.emarketer.com).

But, he said that search advertising on Google alone was roughly $12 billion last year.

This amount was generated on search engine results pages that represent roughly only five per cent of the Internet’s page views, which means that five percent of the Internet’s page views generates more than twice the revenue of the rest of the Internet combined, Husam said.

Husam said at a seminar in a presentation on “Display Advertising — The Billboards of the Web”, and in the WSI White Paper by himself, that the visual appeal and versatility of display advertising can be used for maximum advantage in engaging potential customers and they have a long lasting branding effect on all viewers without the need for clicks.

The seminar and panel discussion titled, DigitalOne, the WSI Digital Marketing Summit 2011, was organised in partnership with TECOM Investments Media Clustre in Dubai.

He said that display advertising is a more traditional form of advertising, but is currently evolving to be more audience centric. It is aimed towards building customer consciousness around a product, service or brand.

“This process is highly effective with visuals rather than with text. The biggest benefit of display advertising is that the “image” of a brand or product is embedded in the viewer’s mind, and results in more chances of the viewer acting on this awareness in the future, thus accelerating sales and goals in the long run,” Husam said.

Stating that display advertising has only been around for the past 15 years, he explained that the main aim of a display advertisement is to target traffic to the Website that is publishing the advertisement.

Like all other forms of advertising, it also aims at sales of the advertised product or services and creating brand recognition and awareness.

Tracy Spence, Internet marketing consultant, speaking on Online Publicity — Online PR pays, said that online PR can be used to increase brand awareness, improve search engine optimisation, meet new people and communicate, and offer added value like free advice, hints, and tips.

She said that the benefits include enhanced reputation, trust, new business, and increased profitability at a minimal investment.

Fahed Bizzari, Web strategy consultant, speaking on “Content Strategies — The Missing Link”, said that the future belongs to companies that think like publishers, adding that big brands have known the marketing benefits of publishing for a long time.

He said that clearly defined audience and content of digital advertising that adds value to their lives leads to a receptive target market.

On the impact of digital advertising, he said that existing customers will stay with you, new prospects will flock to you, positioning is made easier, you achieve “Top of Mind” status, your products and services will get full exposure, you become a “Firm of Endearment”, and you sell without having to sell.

Jeff Leach, co-founder of N_K_D Pizza, presented a case study on the success of the company.

Francois Muscat, Internet and search marketing expert, speaking on “The Social Company — Implemen1ng a Social Media Strategy”, said that you need to engage in social media if your company gets referral business by word of mouth, you wish to increase your online brand and visibility, your management understands what social media means and see the value, your customers use social media, and you have the time to invest in socialmedia activities.

Later, presenting social media case studies, Muscat said that fun videos can become viral and increase sales, social media can connect emotionally with people, Twitter is immediate and can generate leads while Facebook creates a community of like-minded people.

· business@khaleejtimes.com