When ‘Click’ Happens
Sometimes I feel like giving a big hug to all the people that click on Internet ads. They make so many of our favorite websites and online applications free. But me, I’ve never been a clicker. In fact, I take (well, I should say ‘took’… please read on) pride in not being a clicker. But then a funny thing happened not too long ago. Fluke? Maybe… but then it happened again.
I was looking for a flight to New York to find the overpriced and undersized Manhattan apartment that I currently live in. It just so happened that The San Francisco Chronicle had an article online that day about Virgin America’s first day of ticket sales. So, I clicked. Before I got to the article, I was face-to-face with a big, full-page advertisement for $139 Virgin America ticket to New York City. The paranoid part of me says they mined my computer’s data to figure out that I wanted to go to New York, but most likely it was just a perfect symbiotic relationship between PR and advertising. Long story short, I clicked on the ad and ten minutes later had a flight booked to New York on Virgin America. A blow to my pride? Yeah, a little bit.
A month or two passed and as I watched the baseball playoffs, I noticed an ad for a Charles Schwab checking account that earned 4% interest and fully refunded ATM fees. Sounded good, but probably too good to be true. Ignored it… Back to baseball. A few days later, I again came face to face with a full page online ad for this same account. I clicked… Again. After reading about the account and making a call to Schwab, I decided I wanted to open an account. Transaction completed — I am now officially an advertising statistic.
Click pride? Completely gone, but hey, I got a really cheap flight to New York and 4% interest on my checking account — a gift to myself that keeps on giving.
What caused the clicks here was not flashy advertising or spinning bad products with fancy language (as PR people are sometimes accused of doing), but instead it was timely advertising of very good services to the right person. Get a good deal in front of anyone mildly interested in what you’re offering and clicks (not to mention transactions!) are sure to happen. This is not unlike how we represent our clients at LaunchSquad. We choose to work with companies that have timely stories and legitimately great products. It’s not about spin or any kind of trickery and praying for clicks (or stories). It’s about telling a great story about a disruptive company, accurately and to the right people.
This made me think about those hugs I so willingly feel like giving to online ad clickers that keep so much of the internet open and free. But now it’s becoming clear that it’s not the clickers, it’s the smart advertisers and innovative companies who cause those clicks that really deserve the hugs.
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