The Return of the Undead Ads …continued

Posted Posted in Banner Advertising, Blog, Premium     

“What goes up must come down” or so you’ve heard. In the world of marketing though, the idiom is not always true. There might be crests and trough in basic principles, but the truth is, advertising is still doing a job of reinforcing and not initiating what people would like to see and believe, and sometimes, the best advertisements are those that have done the job well. It is those advertisements that are reincarnated, rehashed and resold, in a market that had almost forgotten that they existed. In the world of digital marketing, those nearly-forgotten-but-always-there formats are microsites, static banners and text links. You may think that these went obsolete with the advent of newer formats, but look around, and you will still see them making a statement in varying degrees of refurbishment.

In order to decide if you can benefit by reaching out into the archives of the world of advertising, it is important to understand what these formats are and how they work. In this session we will do exactly that, enlighten you about the heroes of yore.

Microsites – the greatest hero of the days gone by

A fantastic way to provide in-depth information about a particular topic is to have a dedicated microsite. A microsite is therefore, a discreet entity within another site used to add specialized information that

can be editorial or commercial. However, with the advent of new formats for advertising, microsites were relegated to the backseat, and security expert Rich Baldry commented:

When special-purpose domains for campaign microsites appear, it becomes […] confusing. At best, people might ignore the microsite domain, keeping themselves safe but making the marketing dollars a waste. At worst, the protection and reputation offered by use of known domains is lost and people end up infected the next time they follow an unknown domain.(1)

While the main criticism against microsites comes from those used for “white hat” purposes, it cannot be denied that microsites are still around, and their versatility can do wonders for your business by:

    1. Being cost-effective simple solutions for promotional purposes
    2. Being a starter site before your full-service site is ready
    3. Showcasing seasonal promos and offers
    4. Being the landing page for your main site
    5. To test offers
    6. Creating multiple/sticky brand associations
    7. Broaden your scope for link building.

 

To be continued to..