Effectiveness of Online Advertising Essay

Growing internet user base, increasing time spent on the internet, broadband penetration into the households and fragmented media consumption of consumers are driving advertisers towards the field of online advertising. But there are a few limitations to this sector as well, the primary one being low broadband penetration in the country. Thus, the field of online advertising promises growth as it is interactive, targets specific consumers and has no geographical or time boundaries. With the help of all the primary and secondary data collected and analyzed, certain trends and conclusions came forth. The first and foremost thing in this project was to understand the influencers (online advertising agencies). Why various sectors are getting into the field of online understanding, what are the features of an online advertisement, what are the advantages of internet as a medium over other forms of media, objectives of an online campaign, which sectors are investing in this field and what are the limitations of internet as a medium of advertising – all these are listed under the major findings. The next thing was to understand the average consumers who had to be users of internet. Why they use internet, do they notice these advertisements, if yes do they take any action, if no then what is the reason for the same, do they think that online advertising is more engaging, if not what is their preferred medium for advertising, whether they have been pursued to take any action regarding the product/service after watching the online advertising and whether they think that online advertising has any limitations or not – all these are listed in detail under major findings. For this, students studying across Delhi, pursuing graduate/post-graduate and various professional courses were among the target audience. The reason behind this was that students these days spend a lot of time on the internet whether it is for acquiring information or social networking sites. They are present their on the medium and notice these advertisements. The Young Working Professionals are the other target segments as they are also heavy users of internet using it for acquiring information or sending e-mails or social networking sites. Online advertising as a medium is emerging and holds a promising future for brands to build consumer relationships as these advertisements act as a reminder as well as a channel of sales. Online Advertising provides brands with the opportunity to exist alongside their competition and yet be relevant. Presently BFSI and IT sectors are the major investors in online advertising as their target audience (corporate) is present online most of the time. So, internet acts as a medium of influencing the target consumer as well as a channel of sales for them. But FMCG sectors are also catching up. Because of the advent of social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and Twitter, it has become easier for FMCG brands to advertise online as these advertisements act as a reminder for the consumers and directs the interested consumers to the main sites. This helps them in building their brand image as well as the consumer database as it gives them the opportunity to interact with the consumers and get feedback. The most important feature of Online Advertising is that is measurable i. e. consumer reactions can be monitored. This feature of online advertising makes it an efficient medium for advertising as results can be easily monitored. The major limitation to this medium is the low broadband penetration in the country and although the internet user base is on a rise but the ratio when compared to the total population is very low. Thus, Online Advertising is an effective medium of advertising owing to its interactive and measurable nature. With the growing possibilities of sectors investing in this medium we can expect more creative content to be available on the online space. This would make the medium of online advertising more creative, more interactive and in tune with all the other mediums of advertising. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUNDER The Indian advertising industry is in a phase of transition. Rapid advances in technology and an ever growing base of empowered customers have redefined how advertising is created, sold, consumed and evaluated. At this juncture advertisers are experimenting with a number of emerging platforms including Internet which has been globally acknowledged as an interactive medium with a lot of advertising potential. Internet is the most powerful communication medium known to humankind but there is still a debate on as to how powerful it as a communication tool. It is a way of directly communicating to consumers in cyberspace. It is unique as there is more of narrow focus on e-commerce. It has opened up a lot of opportunities for marketers for targeting customers in an interactive and measurable ways. Online advertising is an effective way of advertising that uses the power of Internet and World Wide Web in order to deliver marketing messages and attract consumers. It helps to target specific customer segments and gather information across geographical boundaries in a cost effective manner. Online advertising helps in not only leading visitor to a publisher’s site but also creating awareness which potentially could result in gradual brand building. With online advertising you get instant results. It is growing faster than other segments due to fundamental drivers such as †¢ Low input costs for advertisers †¢ Increasing awareness of online usage in India amongst advertisers and marketers †¢ Growth in online user/audience base The number of net surfers in India is increasing at a rapid rate and studies have shown that people are spending more and more time on the web. Buying products online is convenient, hassle-free and easy. Online market places allow buyers to see the best deals available without moving from their desks and choose the products they want which they could not find at the local supermarket. For a company putting an advertisement online gives a benefit of being present right next to your competition when people are looking for products or services. Online Advertisement in India is a fast growing market and media buying is becoming a very important decision for all online spenders. The biggest advantage of Online Advertisement is it helps you to track your user online and understand online consumer behaviour. Recognizing the possibility of using Internet as an effective tool for targeting niche audiences, innovative perspectives are being practiced by established and traditional institutions. According to a study1, in the recent general elections in India (early 2009), many Indian politicians considered Internet as a useful platform for interactive political communication especially with youth. Indian National Congress party used sites like YouTube and Facebook to execute web-based social marketing campaigns. With 50 Million Internet users in Urban India and majority of them in the age group of 18-24 years, Internet was found to be an effective tool to engage with them. 1 Study on Online Display Advertising in India by IMRB (December 2009) Growing Internet user base, increasing time spent on the Internet, broadband penetration into households and fragmented media consumption habits of consumers are driving advertisers towards the online medium.