DMK | WEEK THREE | 5%

Discussion Three: Push vs. Pull Case Studies

Objectives:

Initial Post

1.   Find an example of one of the following: 

a.   A company within your industry that is using display advertising. Note: This will require

you to search sites within your industry that have advertising space.  

b.   An effective or ineffective marketing email you received. 

Take a screen shot of the ad or marketing email, upload the image to Picasa (or similar site), and embed the image into the discussion board. A link to the image will be accepted if the embed feature is not cooperating on FSO (see screen shot tutorial).

2.   Provide a link to the landing page the email or display ad directs visitors to on the company’s website. (Note: a landing page is the page you are directed to once you click on the advertisement. This is usually not a home page, but rather a page that relates directly to the advertising message)

Response to (1) and (2)

I opted to use my Gmail account I received on August 14, 2012 from MarketingProfs entitled Email Lessons From Seinfeld | Facebook Promotion Do's, Dont's | Tablets vs. Smartphones.  The email is a daily series of messages called “MarketingProfs Today.”  The following is the image captured with Grab and uploaded to my Picasa Account.  Within the email was a banner add running the whole length of the top “Social Media:  The Full Monty.”  The call to action announces a new course offered on-line with an opportunity to click to register.    Below the ads is a list of various articles offered for that particular day.  Content changes somewhat daily while the banner campaign run daily most likely for the duration of the course.  I note they use the Seinfeld name.  This is not the first time I’ve seen the popular television series used in connection with on-line workshops.  I would imagine that this would increase clicks significantly. 

Clicking on the banner ad brings me directly to the c course sign-up option for this particular course.  I note that MarketingProfs’ main page has many tabs with offerings.  However, this click brings me directly to the course in question.  The page is very well arranged.  To the left are the typical options to create likes and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Linkedin.  G Plus links within main corporate pages has become much more common.  In a sense, Facebook and Google Plus seem to be competing for the same KPIs.  To be on the safe side I typically use both. 

3.   Explain why you think this message and landing page were effective or ineffective.

Response to (3)

This email campaign is effective because it runs daily and constantly refreshes the content with information that directly relates to the digital marketer’s concerns and interest.  The banner is well set with very little fluff.  The call to action is clear; the opportunity to participate is well provided.  The contents of the email are consistent with the main page’s layout and themes.  Once on the main page the option to join the seminar is directly to the right.  Further, it asks if you are already signed-up for the course and then suggests an option to gather material in preparation for that course. 

4.   How do you think this company is measuring the effectiveness of their campaign (KPI’s)?

Response to (4)

Most likely this company for this particular campaign is measure clicks to the main page and the individuals choice to sign-up for the course.  Most likely they are looking at their ROI on their email campaign v. direct searches via keywords on various platforms.  I would expect they are also measuring the number of clicks that the keyword ‘Seinfeld’ generates and how many of those click are bounces.  Perhaps they are also measuring how many visitors to the site go to other programs and options to see if this particular campaign is generating additional interests in other products and services.  I would also expect that they be following how much of the traffic is being generated on hand held devices since this is consistent with the subject of the course.  A Google search on my iPhone took me to a stripped down version of the main site of my laptop.  It immediately offered me a free download application.  They would most likely be measuring how many application downloads are generated by individuals performing a similar search.

Their logo is a white bird with symbols indicating chirping against a blue background.  Their tag is ‘Smart Thinking, Pass It On.’

I should note that ‘MarketingProfs ‘ regularly offers downloadable material in the form of. PDFs.  A keyword search ‘MarketingProfs’ on YouTube returns 262 returns. 

The site also offers a monthly newsletter that requires an email address.  Other courses are also on the clicked page with the particular class at the top. 

Finally, I notice that the moment I clicked through to the page there was a recommendation from a former participant in their program.