Starcom's Ad Deal for Kellogg's Hinges on Engagement
Megan McIlroy
Advertising Age
April 21, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com)
-- At a time when marketers are increasingly relying on
engagement as a key metric of the success of an online
ad campaign, Publicis Groupe media agency Starcom has
brokered an online display-media deal based on cost per
interaction rather than the more traditional metric of
cost per exposure.
The deal was made on behalf of the Kellogg Co. with
online ad rep firm Gorilla Nation.
Catching kids' attention
The campaign introduces two new Eggo products, French
Toast Waffles and Mini Muffin Tops, to the children's
market in a series of rich-media banner ads made by the
marketer's creative agency, Publicis' Leo Burnett. The
banner ads, placed on sites including Kidzworld.com,
feature kid-friendly interactive games such as mashing
up foods (chocolate and hot dogs, for example) and
measuring how delicious they are.
Starcom is paying based on participation with the ad
units.
"We are paying for the interaction, not just the chance
for an interaction," said Andrea Krueger, digital
supervisor at Starcom. "CPMs still have value in the
marketplace -- this is just taking it beyond that,"
referring to the metric cost-per-thousand viewers.
"From a brand perspective, moving from impressions to
interaction is an accountability issue," said Chris
O'Connor, a Kellogg's senior brand manager, frozen
breakfasts. "I am going to know how hard my dollars are
working for me."
Offering something different
This is one of the first deals based on cost per
interaction that Gorilla Nation has made, said VP-Sales
Kyle Fletcher. The ad firm represents a lot of
"mid-tail" sites such as Kidzworld.com, which get in the
range of one million to 15 million unique monthly
visitors. Since Kidzworld doesn't offer the same reach
as a Nickelodeon, Disney or Cartoon Network, it needs a
different value proposition for marketers, said Mr.
Fletcher.
"We have to differentiate ourselves in some way, and we
are open to a lot of things. That was the main driving
force behind a relationship that is more measurable," he
said.
Though Kidzworld does assume a certain amount of risk
with a deal like this, coming up with alternative ways
to measure campaigns is becoming increasingly important
as marketers grow disenchanted with measures like
cost-per-click and cost-per impressions, he said.
Engagement is still a hot topic in marketing more than
two years after the Advertising Research Foundation
first decided to define an engagement metric.
Newly hatched model
One online ad provider that's also been aggressive in
pushing the compensation model toward engagement is
VideoEgg. The ad network two months ago introduced a new
rich-media product called AdFrames, expandable ads that
run within standard Interactive Advertising Bureau ad
units. Advertisers only pay when a user has engaged with
an ad. (VideoEgg instituted a three-second delay when a
user rolls over an expandable ad to ensure the
engagement isn't accidental.)
The idea, VideoEgg Chief Marketing Officer Troy Young
said at the time, is if one site has an interaction or
engagement rate of 0.2% and another has a rate of 2%,
the publisher delivering the higher rate should get
rewarded for that in the form of greater ad revenue.