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. ]]> http://www.begreeted.com/blog/proactive-live-chat-the-ultimate-below-the-line-marketing-tool/feed 0