Where’s the Luma Slide for Branding?

Up until now, the internet has been thought of as mostly a direct-response medium, in the eyes of marketers and brands. If all goes well, however, we should start to see a big shift in that view of online efforts.

In a recent Digiday blog post, the author points out that the current “programmatic buying landscape” is dedicated primarily to “non-guaranteed inventory” and this inventory is largely thought of as direct-response media. It is this type of thinking that prevents the web’s use as a medium for branding, thereby undercutting it’s potential.

But this is all changing. The drumbeat is getting louder and we’re starting to see movement towards new ad formats to attract brands and more importantly, towards a new perspective on the impact of web advertising.

I’m not talking about more discrete metrics; I’m referring to relevancy of metrics. Instead of focusing on CTRs and Facebook “likes,” we should see a greater awareness of brand marketing’s place in the entire customer journey. While that customer journey may end in a sale, it starts somewhere, and we’re here to say it can start online.

With a better, more macro-economic, attribution model, we’ll be able to see how online brand efforts contribute to a sale and customer loyalty; this in turn will lend value and emphasis to non-direct-response marketing.

Let’s give brands more than just another “tool” for their marketing arsenal. Let’s give them a platform for brand creativity and growth, one that proves value beyond the click.