Display Advertising vs. Search

They say that on the whole multichannel/multiple approaches to marketing is most effective. And in the end, the same is true for display advertising and search online. The impact of the combined approaches is much greater than alone (http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2008/12display-adverti.html). Then why are so few cosmetics companies taking this approach? In my team’s research on GiorgioArmani Beauty and four other cosmetic companies, perhaps only Chanel has a fairly decent display advertising approach (this is based on our own analysis, as most companies do not reveal details regarding their online marketing strategy.)

Display advertising creates interest in the product, which is realized at a later point in time in a site visit or other actions to eventually purchase the product. Most of the cosmetic companies we examined, however, focused on search and had top spots in search engines like Google and Yahoo. This online marketing approach may be attributed to the current economic downtown and the overall costs of an extensive online marketing campaign for these companies. For example, Clarins, the France-based company cited online marketing tactics as a major marketing and promotional cost that affected their year’s profit figures. Thus there is a financial significance of a move into the online sphere.

This lull in display advertising may also be attributed to an online / offline focus, whereby most customers know the brand through print/traditional sources of media. The pull online will be gained through already knowing the brand through traditional media sources and using a search engine to find its online resources etc. In my experience, that is often how I access any luxury brand online – through search- because I already have familiarity with the brand through alternative sources. So perhaps at this time, this approach in the cosmetic industry online is appropriate.