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Mediasmith Anvil |
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Volume 5, Issue 5 September 21, 2006 |
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What
Engagement REALLY Is (Or, Engagement for Dummies) |
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By
David
Smith In a
recent article for
iMedia which also became July’s Anvil, I talked about the technical
definition of engagement, saying that it was more of an
effectiveness than an exposure metric. In this article, I want to talk
about engagement from a logical laymen's perspective. I feel a need to write
this as more and more conferences are being scheduled about engagement, and
more media are claiming that they have a superior claim relative to
engagement. Simmons
is even developing an engagement metric. As I
have said before, engagement, while related to the medium that carries the
message, is primarily a product- or service-oriented attribute. Let me give
an example: Opting in is a sign that you are engaged. You have made the
decision to get involved with messaging from a brand by agreeing to have it
sent to you on a regular basis.
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The
*Other
media, including magazines, newspapers, videogames, Internet, music, books,
and radio |
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In my
mind, engagement is clearly on the shoulders of the brand and those who convey
the message. But it is not totally in the control of the messaging
(advertising) folks. Two examples: while a commercial, print ad, internet
message or some other form might convince me to try a new toothpaste or soap
(yep, probably a TV spot, as they still work best for a lot of new things), I
probably do not become fully engaged with it until I try it in the shower,
smell it and feel it. Yet I became engaged with the Maserati
Gran Turismo Coupe the first time I saw it at an
auto show. Engagement is an unconscious tick of the mind that causes you to
think differently about and notice a brand differently in the future. And
advertising can help big time in this process. You don't even have to be able
to afford it. The web
has a clear lead in engagement. After all, did you ever even hear the term
opt-in before the web came along-- even though we had been opting in to
catalogues, consciously or unconsciously for years? And there have been TV
spots loved and hated. But the web, with its lean-forward aspect, gets you
involved. And puts choices in front of you that cause you to make conscious
decisions about further involvement with something. And whatever that is, you
can perform an efficiency ranking on it. Registrations, downloads, visits to
a site, purchases, requests for more information-- you name it. That's why I
don't recommend using the CPA term in computing efficiency. CPA is now
forever branded in the metric associated with an online ad sales methodology.
I suggest (with a smile J) that you use CPW (or
cost-per-whatever you are trying to measure). Once you do this, you end up
having discussions about engagement metrics. |
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Mediasmith Morsel |
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With
other media, we evaluate them all based on their CPM (cost-per-thousand
impressions). With the web (and other media as they become digital and
trackable), the subject changes to CPW, not CPM. And we end up having two
discussions. First, what is the "W" that we are going to measure?
Then, what kind of CPW can we achieve, and does that meet the goal to
successfully sell the product or service at a profit? We're over 10 years
into the web advertising revolution, yet none of the other media that we use
can measure up to the metrics of the web. If you
want engagement, other media can claim it, but only the web can prove what
the cost per engaged user is, whatever your metric. |
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Mediasmith Morsel |
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A version of this article originally appeared in iMedia. |
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Contact Mediasmith, Inc. |
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You are receiving this newsletter from Mediasmith as part of our
efforts to keep our friends abreast of what's going on in the interactive
advertising arena. |
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