Thank You For Not Being Stupid

Here’s a thought – look at your conversion data. Carefully. Analyze. Then analyze again. Read this. Then, see if a reasonable and statistically robust solution doesn’t exist.

Thank You For Not Obsessing Over Site Lists
Keep in mind that you’re not buying sites, you’re buying people — and that means targeting them wherever their browsing habits might lead. A conversion is a conversion — even if it takes place on dumage.com (Mike Shields’ chest-heaving hysteria notwithstanding, of course). I’d also suggest ratcheting down the UGC-phobia a little — if you’re trying to reach a tech-savvy audience, UGC sites like Flickr and Evite are exactly where you’d want your ads to appear (And if you’re not — well, maybe Jitterbug is hiring).

Thank You For Not Focusing On Top-Of-The-Funnel Metrics
Have you ever heard a CMO say, “We’ve reviewed this month’s results, and your conversions are down, revenue is down, ROI is terrible — but your time on site and pages per visit are fantastic! Good work, guys!” Yeah — me, neither. A recent survey of agencies and marketers proves the point — when asked to rank what matters most, conversion rates and ROI ranked No. 1 and No. 2, while page views and time spent on site ranked dead last. So, how about we all agree to focus on bottom-of-the-funnel metrics and consign top-of-the-funnel metrics to history’s dustbin where they belong?  Super — thanks.

Bill Bock is senior manager of digital planning at Mediassociates, an ad agency focused on media planning and buying for TV, radio, Internet, print and outdoor advertising.