I have to say I was surprised to hear that Gap will not be advertising its new denim line on-air in any capacity. The brand has been known for some of its past TV commercials so I think this shift is really confirming the new direction of advertising. The new ad campaign “Born to Fit” will be placing a significant emphasis on online advertising and social media, specifically facebook. Caroline Tall recently wrote a blog post about the Gap’s facebook page and how it landed on Creativity Online’s top 20 list. The Facebook page will act as the centerpiece for the online campaign, all initiatives will drive consumers to their page where they can view video, upload their own photos, etc. What I found the most interesting is that they have set no numerical benchmarks to determine success, but will look at “how much consumers interact with the brand” to gauge ROI. The Gap has struggled with their brand for some time; however, by shifting direction and focusing on emerging social marketing and online media initiatives that allow for audience interaction, Gap is beginning to reposition themselves again as a leader in the industry.

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In a day and age where ROI is becoming increasingly prevalent, finding ways to monitor campaign effectiveness at a more intricate level is crucial. Pay per call is one of those examples. There are several call tracking providers that offer this type of service, which allows companies to track phone leads real-time from specific advertising initiatives. By setting up a unique phone number(s) through one of these providers for each particular initiative (i.e. paid search, directory listings, etc.), a company is able to track real-time all inbound data – phone number, date and time of call, call duration, name, address, media source, and more. The calls will ring seamlessly into the customer’s business and allows users to view the detailed call reports online 24/7. Another unique feature is that most services also provide an audio recording of all inbound calls, which is especially helpful for companies that wish to monitor quality assurance and assist in customer acquisition and retention. Pay per call provides tangible evidence to substantiate the value of marketing initiatives and gets us closer to quantifying the effectiveness of our advertising dollars.

Pay per call has been especially interesting when it comes to search engine marketing. Previously, the emphasis has been on whether people make it to your web site, not what type of action they take once they get there. Pay per call provides an avenue to obtain more qualified leads. According to MediaPost Publications, “by allowing companies to track phone calls back to exact keywords, call tracking technology facilities a cost-per-lead model that delivers real-time leads to merchants in the form of a phone call, and creates a much more complete cost-per-lead analysis for online campaigns.”

Pay per call is an extremely valuable tool that helps companies make the most of their advertising dollars and I believe this is only the beginning of technological advances that will affect how companies track advertising campaigns and ROI in the future.