Until now, paid search has always been a pull medium with unknown amounts of inventory. The amount you get is dependent on the amount of times searchers hit the search button — which is currently around 530M times a day. This seems like a lot of inventory, but advertisers want more. Because of the consistently high ROI that paid search delivers, a lot of brands have allocated more and more of their budgets to it over the years. And even though this is good news for the medium, several industries are seeing a rise in rates to record highs — posing an uphill battle in continuing to achieve effective ROI metrics.

Behold…

Access to more scale is now available with search retargeting. Here’s how it works. I like to think of it like a boomerang.

A searcher types something into a search engine, but then they get distracted or they aren’t happy with the search results and walk away. A day or so later, that same person receives a display ad that is directly related to what they’ve recently searched for. In other words, it takes a qualified lead based on real and recent consumer intents, and gives your brand another chance to get in front of that person moving them along the purchase funnel. They threw something out there with search, and a relevant offer or product came back around to them through display – like a boomerang.

Even cooler are the different ways to target based on the search query data. You can target by keyword, topic or category. Location targeting is also an option. And frequency capping is another important consideration.

We’ve now met with over 10 ad networks that offer searching retargeting based on search queries from Google, Yahoo! or Bing. And as we introduce more clients to this product offering, we hope to have more success stories to share. There are endless opportunities for targeting scenarios and compelling creative! More boomerangs to come.

As someone who spends a good bit of time in the world of retouching it is easy to forget that regular folks may not be aware of the magic that goes into any beauty shot, whether its cosmetics, fashion, or even food. This spot is a powerful illustration of the fact that perfection isn’t reality and is a spot-on way to communicate the mission of The Dove self-esteem fund.

A shout out to the folks at Dove who want to make a difference by “widening the definition of beauty” as well as the folks at Ogilvy for a fun glimpse behind the curtain. After all, who doesn’t need a boost to self esteem?

So enjoy the spot, and maybe even visit the campaign’s site.

Credits: Director Tim Piper, Ogilvy (concept, treatment and post production) and Yael Staav, Soft Citizen (live action)

Don’t get me wrong, I will print out an email coupon for a free ice cream cone any day, and gifts.com has revolutionized the way that I do my Christmas shopping. But when making decisions about what to purchase for people on my list, I would much rather dog-ear the pages of a catalog. Even my digitally-focused kids get jazzed when the latest issue of American Girl or Lego arrives.

So I find it interesting to watch the recent trend of clients that turn away from direct mail to try out more web-related methods. Clients seem swayed to test the waters of the digital realm in reaction to pressure to “go green” or to capitalize on the latest buzz over mobile devices and social networks.

Sure, it is important your brand keep up with “emerging media”, but let’s not lose sight of the target. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. In a recent quest to source a database for a client’s email blast, I found a result of a NextAction.net survey that points out some interesting statistics:
• Up to 50% of online purchases are driven by receipt of a physical catalog
• Offline customers have a significantly higher lifetime value and greater brand loyalty than customers sourced through search or other online tactics

The challenge is to build valuable long-term customer relationships through a combination of tactics that blend offline and online media. Many brands that we love have found a way to use the digital world to enhance our shopping experience and reward our loyalty. So go ahead and grab their attention with the digital goodness, but don’t lose sight of what can be achieved when a message is supported by the staying power of traditional methods.

Speaking directly from the 18-49 female demographic: as of yesterday’s mail delivery, I now have in hand the big blue Bed Bath & Beyond 20% off postcard AND a Central Market flyer. Now I can finally get the new bath towels I’ve been eyeing — and maybe even pick up dinner.

With the economy officially in a recession, an increasing amount of storefronts are going dark in malls and shopping centers across the U.S. A couple of upstart outdoor companies are capitalizing on this opportunity for both advertisers and property owners by creating engaging street level advertising that crosses into the world of digital.

Companies such as Inwindow and WindowGain are offering interactive digital experiences for pedestrians with 3D video clings, pedestrian triggered audio, holograms on the street and Bluetooth that can ping customers with coupons or sweepstakes offers.

These new outdoor companies negotiate a lease fee with property owners for the use of their storefront while it is vacant. This is a win for both the landlords and advertisers. Property owners can earn a little extra rent and advertisers get memorable outdoor impressions for a discounted cost.

Audience Data Capture is a great program from Pearl Media to provide advertisers with detailed metrics on who is interacting with storefront ads. They are even using face recognition technology to count how many people stop to view the ad, for how long, and whether they are male or female. Which means video ads can be served by gender!

In the interactive displays below the dog barks at you as you walk past. Check out more video examples here.

This type of advertising can also be used for event marketing and PR by creating Flash Stores. This is an opportunity for advertisers that do not have a retail presence, which allows consumers to interact with their brand. This is an unexpected format to initiate trial among a new consumer base. In my opinion, it is the outdoor equivalent to a radio remote.

Storefront advertising is an alternative outdoor option that I would definitely recommend in future branding campaigns. It is unexpected which draws attention in the cluttered outdoor media landscape that most consumers try to escape. If paired with engaging, value added content for your target, I think the media value would over-index.