Display Ads Drive Major Traffic for Marketers

Consumer packaged goods companies are realizing the brand-building power of online media, according to Advertising Age. A recent article notes the 6 million unique visitors Procter & Gamble receives to its corporate Web site each month, despite being free of e-commerce.

Though the article doesn’t address one thing we’d like to know — namely, what consumers are doing when they get there — it does tell us that a large chunk of the traffic is coming from a display ads on sites like Yahoo!.

Interesting, but why does it matter? Nielsen BuzzMetrics’ Pete Blackshaw says that visitors to these corporate Web sites are more likely to recommend products. In fact, 40 percent of people who provide feedback via email are likely to recommend it to others, according to the article.

In addition, a study by research firm McKinsey & Co. illustrated the ROI another packaged goods brand realized through the online channel. Visitors to the brand’s Web site generated $40 in average profit vs. the $5 generated by consumers through traditional media.

P&G also uses email relationship marketing and online promotions to drive traffic to its site. Blackshaw recommends companies use video, blogs and other elements of online communities to further engage online influencers via the suddenly-hot corporate Web site.