Advertising, along with additional business sectors affected by the global financial crisis, is already showing signs that it will feel the impact of the economic downturn. In this context, Microsoft indicated that online advertising presented advertisers with an advantage over traditional media channels.

Furthermore, even the performance of online ads could be increased with what Nick Drew, EMEA research manager for Performance Media, Microsoft Advertising, referred to as multi-faceted campaigns, blending search and display advertising.

Drew explained that the key to increase the performance of online ads was not to boost spending, but rather to use financial resources more strategically. This was synonymous with understanding the behavior of users and tailoring ad campaigns accordingly. A critical tactic in this regard was what the Redmond company called diversifying campaigns across complementary formats.

“By tracking panellists’ search activity before and after exposure, the research showed that after seeing the display creatives in a particular campaign, consumers were 54% more likely to search on brand keywords relating to that campaign (specific relevant brand terms, as well as key taglines and messages used in the display advertising).”

“To put it another way, seeing the display advertising prompted 54% more consumers to search on the advertiser’s key brand terms. This is a key finding in itself – a consumer searching on an advertiser’s brand terms is one step closer to visiting that advertiser’s website, finding out more information, and ultimately making a purchase, whether offline or online,” Drew explained.

The conclusion presented by Microsoft was that the marriage between online search and display advertising was nothing short of a success with end-users. The Redmond giant pointed out that using search and display advertising together in online advertising campaigns produced a considerably higher effectiveness, compared to display alone (15 times bigger) and search (two times bigger).

“There’s no doubt that marketers are scrutinizing their bottom line more than ever during these lean times. Although it’s not all doom and gloom for the industry as a whole, it does make sense to try and gather as much data as possible to make better decisions regarding budget allocation. Online has always been about return on investment and it’s digging deeper into the data that will help campaign managers squeeze out every drop of profit,” explained Mel Carson, adCenter community manager.