One of the main reasons online advertising and marketing has taken as long as they have to gain traction in the contemporary media mix is that putting together an online campaign isn’t as sexy as creating a TV commercial. No big production budgets (and accompanying commissions), no hob-nobbing on the sets while eating ridiculously elaborate food from over-priced caterers, no award ceremonies in the south of France, no ‘did you see my ad on 60 Minutes last night - along with 2 million other people?’ Instead, online offers practical, measurable messages aimed at meeting customers at their point of need - effective, but yes, boring.

Kevin Lee wrote a piece in ClickZ this week about creativity in search engine marketing and I started out thinking, “Great, here are some examples of how creativity is used in online marketing!” Unfortunately, Kevin’s message was the same as mine: effective, but boring.

“A creative strategy often includes thinking differently about your product, service, offer, pricing, or buy-flow. If you’re selling a product, do you offer alternative payment options? If a service, do you offer different subscription lengths?” he writes.

“What about your offline business? Is there a way to make your online search and offline shopping behavior sync up better? Consider using offer codes and coupons.”

Consider offer codes and coupons - woo hoo! I’m passionate about the potential of online, but I can see where the agency creatives are coming from - there needs to be some sizzle with this steak. Viral campaigns and some uses of YouTube are the exception (see one of my favourites, the “Will it Blend?” campaign, here) - but this is very hit and miss at present.

Kevin Lee has asked ClickZ readers to send him examples of creativity in search. I’ll keep my eye out for them and share them with you - as long as they’re not about offer codes and coupons…

Tags: creativity, e-marketing, online advertising, online marketing, search, sem, seo

Posted on Saturday, November 1st, 2008 at 12:35 pm under Marketing, Technology, Video.

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