You are where you advertise

Lots of eyes seeing your ad is not necessarily a good thing. This was a lesson learnt by big names Telstra and Qantas when their banners appeared  on the Mongol’s website. The international motorcycle club has been making their mark on Australia, and spikes in visitors to their website has seen them top advertiser’s lists.

Advertise on a website with lots of traffic, right? Not always. Although you want to drive up clicks to your website, you want these clicks to translate into meaningful interaction with potential customers. Just like sponsorships and affiliations, where your online advertisements show up, will also transfer attributes to your brand. For example, if you are brand selling beautiful high-heeled shoes, what attributes will your customers think of your brand if they see your ads on a website selling cheap hot dogs? Okay… that example is a bit of a stretch. But consider the consequences of attributes from a motorcycle gang, known for their violent tendencies, transferring onto a brand like Qantas?

In this case, both Telstra and Qantas blamed their online publishers for letting their banners slip through the cracks. Bulk buying media online can be a risky practice.

I decided to visit the Mongol’s website and see if their high traffic was still pulling in big name advertisers. I found ads for a discrete adult service company, Harley motorcycle parts and what seems to be a very trustworthy Bail Bondsman.
When advertising online, you have to know where you customer will be. You are where you advertise!

Hongi Luo
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School