GM looks to Internet advertising
Michigan Tech students hear strategiesBy LAYLA ASLANI, DMG Writer
HOUGHTON - Next time you see an online advertisement, stop and think about all the research and money that went into it. Chances are, the effort behind the advertisement is more than you realize.
General Motor's Manager of Digital Advertising and Global Search Cindy McColley offered Michigan Technological University students a behind-the-scene look at online marketing on campus Monday. She spoke to the students and public as part of Tech's Center for Technology, Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship's executive speaker series.
McColley said companies like GM are focusing more on Internet advertising and content due to the increasing amount of people surfing the Internet. She said 1.4 billion people are now online, up from 500 million in 2003. She told the audience to expect growth in the amount of money companies spend on online advertising.
"Consumers are online and advertisers are not spending appropriately," she said.
McColley said GM jumped into digital marketing two years ago and quickly found out that many people research tires online. They also learned that many consumers went to Edmonds.com for information about vehicles.
When GM looked at the Web site, they realized they could use the site to their advantage.
"So GM spent a number of years optimizing the content on Edmonds.com," she said.
She said marketers need to manage their Web site and also be aware about what consumers are saying on third party and social networking sites like Facebook.com and MySpace.com.
"As a marketer you need to be aware of social networking because (users) are talking about your brand and you need to be there," she said.
McColley also went into the anatomy of a Google.com search. She said 35 percent of clicks are on the paid listings located near the top of the results page, while 65 percent of clicks are on the natural search results listed below. She said companies use Google to its full potential by thinking of possible keywords people may type into the search box. Next, the company creates a creative, which is the description of the site viewers see on the results page. Lastly, the company creates a landing place, which is the page consumers will click through for information, images and videos about the subject. The key, she said, is relevance.
"It's all about being relevant to the consumer, providing what the consumer is looking for," she said.
She also said Google is able to insert select words into a company's creative based on what a user searches for so the message becomes more appealing to consumers. This tactic is known as dynamic insertion, she said.
McColley then touched on the future of marketing, which she said will focus on personalization and localization. She said changes in technology will also drive marketing's future. As an example, she showed a picture of a smart shopping cart that "remembers" customer's past purchases based on information linked to their store club cards. These carts are then able to alert customers in the store when their favorite brands are on sale, she said.
She also told students to expect more advertising involving cell phones. She showed a picture of a billboard for a band overseas that had a QR Code on it, which resembled a barcode. When people take pictures of the QR Code with their cell phones, they are then able to buy the band's songs or learn more about the musicians via their phones.
"Mobile is the It Girl of tomorrow," McColley said. "There is nothing more personal than the mobile phone."
At the end of the presentation, McColley answered the audience's questions and chatted with students.
Marketing student Chad Smith said he will be graduating in December and attended the event to learn some of the "buzz words" of online marketing.
"Just to have a competitive edge over people that are going to the job fair tomorrow," he said.
CenTILE's next speaker will be Dan Brown, a tool inventor and the president of LoggerHead Tools. Brown will speak for an hour at 2 p.m. Nov. 7 in room 641 of the Dow Environmental Sciences & Engineering Building on campus. Brown will talk about his experiences marketing his products, CenTILE Director Bob Mark said. The event is free and the public is welcome to attend.
Layla Aslani can be reached at laslani@mininggazette.com.
