Online+Ad+Critique

DinoDirect is a popular online store that sells electronics. The large global online retailer recently released its online social marketing campaign which is meant to draw thousands of users that signup and click like on their Facebook page. The campaign titled “Say Hi to your Ipad” is expected to last for two months where contest members have the chance to win an EBook reader, an iphone or an ipad (InvisiblePR).

The first draw for the online social marketing campaign will be held on January 31, 2011. The lucky person will win an E-Book Reader. Second draw of the online Facebook marketing campaign will be held on February 28, where one person could win an iPhone 4 and a lucky person can have iPad The advertisement was first seen on Facebook. A benefit of using a social media for advertising is that it is much cheaper compared to print or television. The target audience for DinoDirect would be the users of Facebook. DinoDirect is able to target their audience because Facebook collects demographic information about their users. This group is more technological savvy and would normally be into the new and upcoming gadgets. With this campaign, they are trying to market the company and increase more traffic to their website which could eventually turn into profit.

According to InvisiblePR, “DinoDirect believes in the power of social marketing media as its a direct channel to reach out to thousands of consumers all over the world in no time. Therefore, the online social marketing campaign is made as a simple game and excited to attract people.” As stated by their Marketing Director “We have made the game simple and are excited to attract each and everyone, our target is to achieve high visibility across all those social media frenzy consumers and hit 20000 fans in Facebook in 45 days” (InvisiblePR). Currently, the Facebook page has 7,631 followers (Facebook).

DinoDirect’s objectives through online advertising according to Stokes are 1. To build brand awareness- through their promotion, they are indirectly marketing the company that makes the E-Book reader and Apple who manufactures the iphone and ipad. 2. They are also creating consumer demand which is a way to convince consumers about what they want and why they want it (reference from book) 3. The company is also satisfying consumer demand as once a customer is aware they want an electronic item, they know where to go to get it 4. They are also driving responses and sales, by advertising online, the company is increasing traffic to their website which can result in an increase in sales The campaign seen on Facebook and can be accessed once a user clicks “like”. This automatically puts them in the draw for one of the three gadgets. The technique of using social media to advertise is effective because their target audience consist of users of Facebook. By using a social media, the company is able to capture demographic information about their users in order to target their campaign more effectively (Stokes, 142). The last update on the page was February 1, 2010 which shows that the company is involved in the campaign and responds to customers issues and concers.



References

"DinoDirect | Facebook." //Facebook//. Web. 05 Feb. 2011. .

"Online Facebook Marketing Campaign by DinoDirect, Say Hi To Your IPad « Marketing Campaign « Invisible PR." //Online Advertising, Digital Marketing, Viral Campaign, Social Media and Public Relations « Invisible PR//. Web. 05 Feb. 2011. [].

Stokes, Rob. //eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Online Marketing//. 2nd ed. South Africa: Quirk eMarketing (Pty) Ltd, 2008. Web. The second advertisement is from Levi’s. The company launched its online brand advertising/marketing campaign titled “Shape What’s to Come”. The advertisement is aimed towards young women aged 18-24. Levi’s is one of the most famous companies worldwide best known for their jeans. The campaign is meant to inspire young women while presenting a way for them to emerge from a complex set of opportunities. According to InvisiblePR “as part of its sponsorship of the TED Women conference, Levi’s – one of the worldwide known denim jeans’ brand clothing products - has created journals to 50 inspiring young women in its new online brand advertising and marketing campaign.” The campaign is about creating an online community where women who share common interests and passions can come together and seek advice regardless of their age and location (InvisiblePR).

The campaign has its own website which allows users to interact and find out more about their campaign. The advertisement was seen on YouTube. In addition to having their own website, the campaign uses social media in order to reach more people in their target audience. Levi’s has created an engaging video which is effective by placing it on YouTube as the site is free whether viewing or uploading a video (Stokes, 129). Therefore if a user views the video, they can be directed to the company site directly or to the marketing campaign. However, using YouTube has not proven to be effective as the video only has 2,680 hits since it’s upload on November 15, 2010. It has been effective to have a separate website linking to the marketing campaign because users can find more information and be involved in discussions which the video does not provide. The website has had more traffic than the video placed on YouTube.



References

"Online Brand Marketing Campaign by Levi’s for Young Women, Shape What’s To Come « Brand Marketing « Invisible PR." //Online Advertising, Digital Marketing, Viral Campaign, Social Media and Public Relations « Invisible PR//. Web. 05 Feb. 2011. . "YouTube - A Millennial Manifesto." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// Web. 05 Feb. 2011. .