Internet advertising

Meaning
 Internet refers to a set of rules in which two computer network
can exchange information with one another. It is a hybrid media.
This is because, it can work very similar to a newspaper. Net can
act as information provider or a direct response media, where by
consumer buys the product. It has a worldwide linked computer
network and acts as an interactive communication media. As a
medium of communication, it combines the characteristics of
magazine, TV and also the newspaper and hence the name hybrid
endorsed. Two-way communication is possible on account of
which the companies can interact with customers, suppliers,
channel members etc
 Initially the Internet gained entry through high-end people but has
broadened its base with middle-class population gradually.
Components
 There are several components of the Internet. Of all the
components, world wide web (www) is most popular and
used extensively. Web is used as a marketing communication
tool. Today, people have access to huge database. Various
internet components are a) Electronic mail abbreviated e-
mail, which enables people to transmit messages, b) Internet
Relay Chat (IRC), this enables the people to talk
electronically in real time with each other, c) Usenet
provides a platform to share knowledge, d) Gopher is a
document retrieval system e) Server enables the user to use
keywords and retrieve the detailed information.
 World Wide Web (www): This is the most important part of an
Internet. This is the part of the Internet that most people use. In
fact, for some people “web” and “Internet” are synonymous. This
has a structure. That is called “client server management”.
Computer storing the information are called servers or hosts and
accessing the information are called clients. Clients makes a
request from a server, while the server responds by delivering the
information.
Second aspect of the web is the organisation of the information
itself. Web servers hold a set of pages written in a specific format
called Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML). Each page has an
address called a URL (Uniform Resource Locater). This consists of
host’s Internet address, followed by location of the file on that
server.
 Accessing Web Pages: Web pages are specified to the
browser in one or two ways- a) by entering the URL directly
b) through the process of following a link embedded with a
previously retrieved pages. In many cases, the pages
transferred will contain several elements.Eg. It may contain
the text page along with HTML commands indicating how
the text is to be displayed on the screen called formatting.
The browser will read this set of commands and display the
text as requested. In addition, the page may contain one or
more images in the standard formats.
 Website: This is where the user of the internet gets
information. These sites need to be updated from time to
time. There should be some creative methods to attract the
user to frequently visit the site. Websites can just be
information provider. Website can be maintained by a wide
range of Internet users as follows:
 Commercial Organizations
 Universities
 Publishers
 Charities
 Local Government.
 Web Advertising: The process of advertising products and
services is slightly different on the Internet and web than it is in
the traditional media. Advertising on the web does not ensure
success if the ad is poor, nor will it guarantee the sales of
inappropriate products. Most marketing communication use
internet along with other media to have connectivity with
customers’ websites as the brand message expands.
 Advertising can be of different types-some relatively simple messages
claim advantages or uniqueness of a product. It can do the complex
job of brand image building. Clearly advertising involves telling the
public some aspects of the product. If advertising is good or clearly
framed, the product will sell. Advertising should be backed by a
sound marketing programme as:
- Whether more can be sold, if price is reduced
- Whether target market needs reminder
- Whether the product is obsolete as thought by current
customers.

Each one of the above marketing programme needs different

kinds of messages. Target audience should be kept in mind,
designing an advertising mission message.
Elements ofWeb Advertising:
In the web, content is the most important. Some pages may
be more attractive than others. These pages contain
information that interest the users who might be the target
audience. Ads on the net are likely to be change in terms of
their content, types of customization and delivery.
Content: The three types of content are:
a) Experiential Content
b) Transaction-oriented Content
c) Sponsored Content
Experiential Content: This will allow consumers to
“experience” the ownership of a product, brand or service.
The sole intention is to let the customer test. Eg. Customer
may feel that he is test driving a car or walking inside a
shopping mall, as a part of his intrinsic experience.
Transaction-Oriented Content: In this case, consumers
are invited to purchase directly i.e. ad is oriented towards
transactions. Eg. Someone who wants to buy a automobile.
He can gather the necessary information from the net, before
deciding to buy a particular car. So, the net can provide
product information. Therefore, when the customer goes to
point of purchase, he is well equipped to take a buy decision.
Sponsored Content: These are sponsored ad. Eg. Nike sponsoring
Golf or Shell sponsoring car racing. It may be straight forward
banners or pop-up ads.

Customization: In order to do the customization, information about

the users are required. Therefore, database collection is required.
Consumer behaviour is observed when they put out queries and
explore the subjects. Based on the segmentation of interested
audience, the advertising campaign is planned. Those who respond
to the ad are followed up.
A second approach to customization is based on the voluntary
information provided by the users. To make this method
successful, organization will have to offer rewards for providing
personal details.
Delivery: Internet is the only media that can deliver certain
types of message, such as interactive advertisement. These
new forms will allow advertisers to achieve several
objectives. Some of them are unattainable by conventional
methods. Eg. Two-way communication, two-way interaction,
online sale, customization for different categories
encouraging customer retention.
Advantages of Net Advertising
 Measuring effectiveness
 Access
 Creative
 Budget
 Targeting the audience
 Message tailoring
 Interactive capabilities
 Sales potential
Limitations of Internet
 Web snarl
 Clutter
 Privacy
 Measurement problem
 Audience characteristics
 Potential for deception
 Cost
 Quality
Pricing Mechanism
 In Internet, the price varies. There are several pricing mechanisms.
Eg. Pack per click through lead, the transaction generated or
conventional CPM. There can be three pricing mechanism: a)
Exposure b) Response c) Action
 Pricing per Exposure: In this system, the advertisers want to pay only
for the number of impression or ad view on their target customers
 Price per Response: In this system, the price is established based on
consumer responses such as click-through
 Pricing per Action: A site publisher might charge an advertiser more
for a consumer who downloads than for one who merely clicks on a
banner. How much a web publisher charges the advertisers for the
value they receive is likely to make the difference between profit and
loss.
Types Of Online Ads
 Banner Ads: Banner advertisements is small, graphic links
placed on a web page. User can click on the ad. He/She will
be taken to the website. Technology is available to instantly
identify website visitors. Two persons can view the same page
at the same time. Usually banner advertisements are placed
in a high traffic websites where many visit. Banner ads are
also placed on sites that attract specific market.
 Positioning of the banner on the page itself is very important.
Web page need not fit comfortably into a single screen. It may
run into several screenfuls to read the whole page. So, the user
must therefore do “page down” through the text.
 Pop Ups: When a user accesses the Internet, a small window
appears. Such windows are called pop ups. The idea used here
is similar to TC, wherein the TV viewer must watch the
commercial before witnessing the serial show. Same is the
case with pop-up. When a surfer wants to go to a certain site,
S(he) has to pass or wade through an ad page first. This is
quite annoying. Despite these disadvantages, more and more
sites offer this type of ad.
 Corporate Homepage: There are various types of corporate
website- serving a variety of purposes. At the simplest level, there
are websites that present the basic information about the company,
often in terms of an on-line version of the corporate brochure.
These are websites that contain a variety of information about the
company or present papers , publications that the organization
would like to offer to the public.
 Sponsorship: This is another form of advertising. There are two
types of sponsorship. Regular sponsorship and content
sponsorship. Regular sponsorship occur when a company pays to
sponsor a section of a site. A more involved agreement is the
content sponsorship, in which the sponsor not only provide dollars
in return for name association but participates in providing the
content itself.
 E-mail: Through e-mail, customizing the message is possible.
It is inexpensive, Customer’s permission and concurrence is a
must for e-mail campaign. Customers who opt-in give
permission for e-mail from a particular company or brand to
be sent to them, don’t consider this as an unsolicited e-mail.
Also there is opt-out email. This is a series of messages sent
out by the company. This will continue to be sent to
customer until notified to stop.
Internet and IMC
 Personal Selling through Internet
 Public Relations through Net
 Direct Marketing through Net
 Sales promotion through net