Do 'Teaser Ads' Draw Real Customers to Web Sites?
You've probably seen the tease or decoy banner ads on the Web--"Shop Naked" or "Click Here To Meet Your Dream Girl"--the ads lure you to a site only to sell you on a commercial service or product.
But do they work?
As more and more PR executives try to get exposure for their companies' Web sites--using ads to interest Web browsers is becoming a popular mode.
Standard banner advertisements are those ads that come up as sponsors for Web directories or search engines such as Yahoo!, Lycos or Alta Vista. Ads cost on average from $500 to $2,000 a day depending on where the ad appears. Some ads appear on the Yahoo!'s main home page or on subsequent directory pages.
Although banner ads have proven to be effective--decoy ads seem to work better for general consumer products, while product ads are successful with target audiences, say Web consultants.
"If your objective is just to get a high response rate, then a (Shop Naked) ad will get that for you," said Vivian Juter, marketing director of Ultimate Site Design, a Santa Monica, Calif., Web advertising firm. "General audiences are attracted to that sort of ad and if the product matches --for example, a soft drink--then you are right on track."
Although Ultimate Site Design uses banner ads for its clients, agency officials say they try to avoid sexy decoy ads because they want targeted audiences. For example, the firm recently created Toshiba Co.'s Web banner ads for copiers and fax machines. The ad included a picture of the product as well as a sweepstakes to win a free copier.
Others agree that decoy ads may not work in many cases. Peter Mansfield, president of Mansfield & Associates, Los Angeles, said that "teasing people" usually is not successful. "Our approach has always been to put the product out front," said Mansfield. "If you have got a great deal on modems, telling people that will get you further on the Web."
Mansfield said his company recently toyed with the idea of using a decoy ad for a cigar manufacturer, but later scrapped it for "something a little more appropriate."
The ad initially would have run in popular male magazines using a female model in a compromising position. In small print the ad would have informed the reader to access the company Web site in order to see the woman naked. "With the current demographics of the Web, using sex is becoming less and less dependable." According to Mansfield, since 1994 the percentage of men on the Web has decreased from 85 percent to 65 percent.
Craig Settles, president for Successful Marketing Strategies, a marketing and PR consulting firm in Berkeley, Calif., said that using tease ads can work when used in the proper context. "It really depends on how you are doing the tease...is it clever? Are you getting people to think?," said Settles. "If you are then you may be effective in getting people to your site." (Mansfield & Associates, 310/348-4704, Successful Marketing Strategies, 510/644-3837)