Randall Rothenberg, made a simple yet powerful observation. He is President & CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and recently wrote in their blog a post titled The “Line” on Internet Display Advertising. He began,

When the Interactive Advertising Bureau Internet Advertising Revenue Report came in for the second quarter of 2008, I took one quick look at the figures compiled by the PriceWaterhouseCoopers accounting firm and immediately said (first to myself, and then to anyone who cared to listen), “It’s a normal recession trend: Above-the-line dollars are moving below-the-line.”

Let me repeat the punch line to emphasize his point:

“It’s a normal recession trend: Above-the-line dollars are moving below-the-line.”

I was compelled to comment. Below is my post on the IAB web site in entirety.

There’s below the line and there’s BELOW the line.

My marketing career began in an era when “the line” also served as a demarcation of class; the glamour of Madison avenue advertising agencies often stood in stark contrast to their less sophisticated counterparts providing in-store merchandising and promotional support for the trade.

For over a decade, we’ve witnessed internet advertising and other forms of online marketing (newsletters, you tube videos, e-books) blur “the line” and today it is imperative that a below the line ethos permeate boardrooms, media plans and creative brainstorming sessions. That is not to say sacrifice the brand for ill conceived campaigns.

Rather, as you so aptly point out, internet advertising is “a medium that does more” than any other. Think of a retail store with all its displays, shelf talkers and on-pack offers. Publishers must help brand marketers and their agencies by offering the online equivalent of visual merchandising and sales promotions techniques that are designed to reinforce brand while contributing to pulling the product through the channel. Said another way, eyeballs and clicks just don’t cut it any longer.

It should come as no surprise that the survivors of The Great Recession of 2008/09 will be businesses who hold their marketing executives, agencies and publishers accountable for delivering results. Call me old fashion, but in my book, that’s called sales promotion and revenue generation.

Joel Granoff, Be Greeted

Of course, IAB is primarily concerned with large brands advertising on major publisher websites. My call to action for publishers to offer “visual merchandising and sales promotions techniques that are designed to reinforce brand while contributing to pulling the product through the channel.” will likely fall on deaf ears on their website.

However, for B2B marketers looking to improve marketing ROI and convert passive web visitors into engaged prospects take note! Your website is a storefront and visual merchandising IS critical to transforming your business website into a dynamic selling environment whether you are capturing leads or selling directly on the site. For that reason alone, I implore you to take a close look at how your below the line dollars are spent and results measured. While you’re at it, give a close look at proactive live chat as a below the line tool to merchandise your brand, engage in real time with your website visitors and capture leads for immediate follow up.

Below are five brief considerations, all essential, for B2B marketers planning a media-driven lead generation promotion with social media and Web 2.0 in mind.

1. Market planning – develop strategies that leverage existing marketing assets. Identify, at the onset of the planning process corporate and channel assets to deliver your message.

2. Sales personalization – Personalizing messages when possible will drive performance. Make sure that critical content is being delivered by subject matter experts, whether they are in-house or credible third parties. Always follow up with any communication and support your efforts with strong 360 customer contact.

3. Branded media – Branded media is the anchor for any media-driven lead-generation campaign. Branded media should be considered the primary audience acquisition strategy to cast a wide net around prospects. Large media companies offer extensive reach through a range of publications with databases of subscribers of magazines and online newsletters across specific niches. Even relatively small marketers can improve their audience acquisition efforts in a big way by partnering with publishers in a more strategic manner.

4. Supplemental lists and opportunistic buys – make sure to tap into buying networks and partners to get the word out. This is where ad word purchases, banner placements and other non-branded sponsorships fits to drive an audience. Here, too, make sure to link to any social media programs that are in place.

5. Database development and analysis – make sure to catalog as much data as it is possible to collect. Associate the data with the individual prospect, keeping in mind prevailing privacy best practices. This data helps create smarter campaigns by tracking how well the elements work and those elements include media placement.

Marketers who develop programs that engage the customer will find themselves best able to take advantage of these opportunities.