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Savy online marketers using Skins to break through Banner Blindness

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Savy online marketers are realizing that paying for skins on highly trafficked sites is one of the best ways to break through Banner Blindness. PerezHilton.com was featuring a skin by NBC’s new television show Lipstick Jungle (looks like another Sex In The City Show). Below is another website (CollegeHumor.com - owned by IACI) that regularly features skins, but I was unable to capture an example.

So how can custom skins break through banner blindness and help your business achieve dramatic online marketing results:

• Make sure the price of the skin is a low priced CPM, don’t just pay to have it up there for a week. Make sure you are being billed anywhere from .05 - .25 cents per CPM. Of course, this rate will vary with the website and whether or not it corresponds with the topic of what you are advertising. For the Perez Hilton example above, I’m sure NBC had to pay a pretty penny to get the customized skin - but the skin correlates with the targeted user demographic that Perez Hilton attracts.
• Skins should have a strong call to action
• Skins should feature something shocking or attention getting
• Skins rarely involve direct response marketing - most of the examples I have seen have been for new television shows
• Skins should practice the principle: Less is more
• If you are advertising a site, be sure to use analytics and track how many type-ins or clicks you generated

If you are interested in having a Skin developed to use on a highly trafficked site - please contact Banner Blindness to see examples of skins we have designed in the past and how they might enhance your online marketing strategy.

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Savy online marketers are realizing that paying for skins on highly trafficked sites is one of the best ways to break through Banner Blindness. PerezHilton.com was featuring a skin by NBC’s new television show Lipstick Jungle (looks like another Sex In The City Show). Below is another website (CollegeHumor.com - owned by IACI) that regularly features skins, but I was unable to capture an example.

So how can custom skins break through banner blindness and help your business achieve dramatic online marketing results:

• Make sure the price of the skin is a low priced CPM, don’t just pay to have it up there for a week. Make sure you are being billed anywhere from .05 - .25 cents per CPM. Of course, this rate will vary with the website and whether or not it corresponds with the topic of what you are advertising. For the Perez Hilton example above, I’m sure NBC had to pay a pretty penny to get the customized skin - but the skin correlates with the targeted user demographic that Perez Hilton attracts.
• Skins should have a strong call to action
• Skins should feature something shocking or attention getting
• Skins rarely involve direct response marketing - most of the examples I have seen have been for new television shows
• Skins should practice the principle: Less is more
• If you are advertising a site, be sure to use analytics and track how many type-ins or clicks you generated

If you are interested in having a Skin developed to use on a highly trafficked site - please contact Banner Blindness to see examples of skins we have designed in the past and how they might enhance your online marketing strategy.

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I look at banner ads more then most people - because I’m always looking to see how marketers are marketing online. I recently came across a banner ad on DrudgeReport.com that featured McDonald’s upcoming Chill Lounges. They seem like a “third place” (a place outside the home and office) where people can chill, consume, and utilize technology (music, Internet, communication tools). The following is the banner advertisement I came across and a screen shot of the flash-based McDonald’s Chill out lounge website:

The banner on the left is good for three reasons: its simple, has a hot girl, and has a call to action (that’s pretty much all you need in a good banner).  The website, like most flash websites, is flashy and full of interactivity. I personally hate flash based websites, as they take a long time to load, take a long time to interact with, and you regularly have to update your flash player. Flash based websites, like all things in life, have their time and place. I’m not sure McDonald’s Chill lounge website is very useful for users and actually explains what it is that McDonald’s is trying to accomplish - the launch of new lounge type spaces in their stores. I only know about the new rehab work being done in McDonald’s because I read it somewhere online. The flash based website, though cool and musical, fails to convey to current McDonald’s patrons and potential customers the new upcoming features to be found in McDonald’s stores.

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I came across this late night infomercial: Kinoki Detox Foot Pad, (direct response television advertisement) the day after New Years. The Kinoki Detox Foot Pad is another brilliant marketing product that I’m sure will be a top selling DR product in 2008. Livemercial is the company behind this brilliantly executed DR product. January and February are the biggest Direct Response marketing months of the years – New years and Valentines day, people want to make changes. The following is an analysis of the Kinoki Detox Foot Pad and how Livemercial is making millions of dollars from this incredibly worthless (but highly believable) product.

Firstly, lets discuss the late night infomercial I saw on NewYears at 2 am in the morning (I would have been out later, but LA shuts down rather early). The infomercial contained all of the components of a high end direct response marketing piece:

• Attention getter (A big “WOW” opener) that immediately shocks and focuses the watchers attention on the commercial.
• Explained the benefits of the products: drains your body of toxins, poisons, bring back health, removes pain, fatigue, and LOSE WEIGHT- basically a CURE ALL product.
• Testimonials from beautiful people explaining the incredible benefits of the product and how it has cured them from ills and emotional distress. The testimonials were very personable and amateur looking – as generic high end testimonials are very unbelievable.
• The call to action at the end of the commercial encouraging viewers to immediately purchase the product either by calling in or ordering through the website.

The website contained all of the components of a high end direct response marketing website:

• Portions of the television advertisement are featured on the landing page
• Highly believable testimonials that are featured on the home page and on its own separate page
• FAQ’s and clinical information that supports the claims of the product
• Call to action that is above the fold on the home page – far too many DR landing pages on the net have call to action links that are below the fold.

I called the 1800 number and was greeted with, “Hello, this is Susan.” I said, “Hello Susan, I would like to order the health product.” Susan responded, “which product is it that you want to purchase?” I said, “The one that makes you healthy, I can’t remember the name of it, I am drunk and it is New Years.” Susan said, “You must tell me the name of the product otherwise I am unable to sell you anything.” I responded, “Ok, tell you what, I just want to buy everything you have, what can you sell me.” Susan was unable to tell me what products that they sell – this clearly seemed like some type of scam operation. I’m unable to determine why she was unable or unwilling to tell me what products she sells in the call center she works at - probably because it is a call center that handles hundreds of products. I hung up on her and went to the Kinoki website.

I placed the order on the website so I could take photos of the product and expose it for the incredible scam (which I believe and will report truthfully on) that it is. This is where the Kinoki Detox Footpads really shines in the marketing world – they offer two types of products to purchase:

1. The Kinoki Detox Footpads for a one time charge of $19.99
2. The Konoki Detox Footpads for a monthly recurring charge of $19.99

The average user probably enrolls for the Kinoki monthly foot club and doesn’t even know they are enrolled in a recurring billing trap. The website makes it very confusing (*Free for life continuity program) when you determine which product to purchase, the monthly foot club purchase option is pre-populated and therefore, somewhat deceptive but truly brilliant. I would estimate that it takes 3-6 billing cycles before a subscriber actually cancels his or her membership (so a blended CPA average of $80), and I’m sure some people will stay a subscriber for life, as the placebo effect (which I believe and will report on) has a positive impact on the users mental psyche. The profit margin on these detox footpads are probably some of the highest in the direct response marketing industry. I would imagine that they cost less than a dollar to manufacturer and package. The shipping fees for these pads are egregious and clearly not the real value of the shipping, the additional amount is called, “Handling”.

Before your purchase is completed you are presented with additional products to purchase that can make you look 10 to 20 years younger. Livemercial truly knows how to monetize its users, through recurring billing and up-selling. The elements outlined in this article, and clearly demonstrated by the Kinoki foot detox pad, are the fundamental building blocks of a successful direct response marketing campaign. The product is incredibly profitable, the television commercial is professional (contains high end graphics, testimonials, etc…), and the website offers continuity as well as high end graphics and the same elements as the television commercial.

The consultants at BannerBlindness.com study, design, and execute highly successful campaigns just like the Kinoki Detox Footpads. Banner Blindness online marketing professionals specialize in developing:

• Product development and outsourcing
• Direct response television marketing pieces
• Call center and online ordering support
• Direct response ordering websites
• Online marketing (paid search, display advertising, affiliate marketing)
• Multivariant and A/B split testing for all components of the DR campaign
• Customer support and product reconciliation

To speak with a Banner Blindness online marketing professional call: 312-281-8931 or email Support@BannerBlindness.com

Happy New Year!