Experience VP of Marketing Janet Sun discusses how to get your piece of the $200 billion market.

Media purchasers all agree that advertising in traditional media outlets — including television, magazines and newspapers — is becoming extinct. This leaves many brand managers asking, “Now what?” Over the years, marketers have set their sights on online advertising, such as banner ads. But how effective is this form of advertising, especially for the lucrative 18-34 year old demographic?

We know two key facts about the coveted 18-34 year old market: (1) they are tech savvy and (2) they spend a significant amount of time online. This makes online advertising a compelling medium for reaching young consumers.

Skeptics or not?
These same young adults are more sophisticated about, and skeptical of, banner advertising because they have been pummeled with display ads, interstitials, pop-ups (and just about every other advertising tactic) from day one, posing a very real challenge for advertisers. Still, the market segment, representing more than $200+ billion, is worth the challenge. In an era when brand allegiance is waning, many marketers believe that it is important to influence purchasing decisions early on.

What many advertisers do not realize is that, when it comes to 18-34 year olds, this theory has been largely unfounded, until now.

A recent survey by Experience, Inc. found that the majority of 18-34 year olds (53 percent) have purchased a product or service online, specifically because of an online ad. Furthermore, 41 percent of this same age group said online advertisements resonate more if they are related to the web content they are viewing. This means that content which is engaging and interactive is the right approach for this audience. (Source: 2006 Online Advertising Survey.)

The golden opportunity
Experience also found that young adults generally conduct research online before making a purchase, with the majority (53 percent) spending 1-2 hours researching a product/service. This is a critical component: young adults are clearly seeking information about a particular product before making a final decision. This presents a golden opportunity for advertisers to inform and educate young adults about the benefits of their brand, products or services.

Getting on target
Now that we know 18-34 year olds find online advertising useful, how can marketers create campaigns that are built around engaging tactics, not annoying, disruptive site ads?

One method is to RAVE this audience.
By applying a 4-point methodology to the development and deployment of online advertising, marketers can achieve a better return on their interactive advertising investment. That 4-point methodology is what Experience calls RAVE:

R: Relevant
A: Action
V: Value
E: Entertaining

• Make advertising Relevant to the market segment;
• Require users to take Action and interact with the brand;
• Deliver Value to users; and
• Entertain them and have fun.

Each factor is assigned one point. Ideally, you should shoot for a total of four, but we know that every ad will not be entertaining (nor should they all be). Achieving a minimum of three out of four is a good rule of thumb and will help you spend your advertising investment wisely.

This 4-point RAVE methodology was developed by Experience after working with advertising agencies and marketers over the past two years. Smart and forward thinking companies like Microsoft, Conde Nast, CareerBuilder and many others came to Experience with the same challenge– how do you reach the 18-34 year old market? After designing successful interactive campaigns for each of these companies, it was clear that RAVE-ing gets marketers on target with this audience.

How does it work?
Recently, Experience implemented the RAVE methodology for CB Campus, a CareerBuilder.com property. Using RAVE, Experience was able to help CB Campus guide the creation of an engaging interactive marketing program to help build awareness of the CB Campus brand among 18-34 year olds.

The campaign, coined “CB Experience,” offered college students the opportunity to win one of three high-profile job shadow opportunities with Reebok. Experience promoted the “Exclusive Experience” job shadows to its network, consisting of more than three million college students through the use of e-mail, site ads and a customized microsite.

CB Campus’ campaign met the following RAVE criteria:

• Relevant: The job shadows aligned directly with the students’ goals because those students coming to the site were interested in finding career options and building their resumes by participating in new experiences
• Action: Students took action by submitting an application that was used to evaluate their candidacy for the Reebok job shadows
• Value: An opportunity with a premier brand (i.e. Reebok) was desirable because it brought a highly sought after and well-recognized brand directly in reach of the students, which allows them to add to their resume and build their list of professionals for future networking opportunities
• Entertaining: CB Campus’ top 30 entries were displayed on the microsite and students from all over the U.S. were able to cast their vote for the best entry, which engaged all parties involved in the campaign including student entrants and students voters

A significant amount of time and energy were needed to make this particular interactive campaign a success. Though it meant more work to achieve all four RAVE categories, these elements were integral to the success of the program. Ultimately, the campaign experienced significant results, generating over 10 million impressions and 1000+ job shadow applications for CB Campus in only one month.

As we have seen in the CB Campus example, RAVE-ing provides high standards for interactive marketing campaigns to meet, allows for consistency across multiple programs and ensures program engagement and ROI success. However, there are a few words of caution. RAVE-ing may require additional resources including time and energy to develop the type of creativity that is needed to execute an interactive campaign. Additionally, this strategy is very effective for the 18-34 year old demographic and has not been tested with other age segments.

Marketers can take their online campaigns to a whole new level by applying the RAVE approach, which will ultimately help build their brand and relationship among the 18-34 year old audience, a lucrative $200+ billion market.

The American dream could be just around the corner for Sacramento residents thanks to an urban project by Manny Fernández, a young real estate investor who has taken on the task of remodeling homes in Oak Park to then offer them to first-time home buyers and low income families with help from government programs.María Gutiérrez was fortunate to begin the process to own the home she currently lives in on 39th Street in the Oak Park area in Sacramento.

“I am happy I qualified as a first time buyer for a beautiful home like the one I live in, the house is great and nobody bothers me,” says Gutiérrez, a homemaker. “I have a six-month-old son and I want him to grow up in a comfortable place and for him to feel happy. Life is peaceful here, I take the bus on the corner or you can walk to the stores, it’s very safe.”

She also said that this was a good option for low income Latinos and that paying $1,100 per month for a property that would increase in value in the near future was well worth it. Her home, as well as the other four on the same block, got a fresh coat of paint, new doors, plumbing and flooring among other things to make living there more comfortable.

Fernández stated that the requirements to qualify for one of these government programs are mainly to be a first-time homebuyer and to have a job that pays less than $45,000 per year.

He also said that his job is to educate the community about these programs so they can buy their own home at a lower price.

“It all started five years ago when I presented a project to the City Council to work in conjunction with various housing programs to benefit the community and low income families. These programs offer $40,000 toward the purchase of a home without having to give a down payment,” Fernández pointed out.

Fernández invested an initial $600,000 to purchase five homes, approximately 1,800 square feet each, on the 2700 block of 39th Street in Sacramento and nearly $200,000 in their renovation. These home will be sold for $199,000 minus the $40,000 granted by the government, bringing their price down to $159,000 with a monthly payment of $1,100 over 30 years.

“The homes needed some maintenance and now they are ready to be sold,” stated Fernández. “I think when people invest in their home it’s good for the neighborhood because they worry about keeping them up and in turn want a cleaner and safer street.”

Susan DeMarois, from the UC Davis Office of Government and Community Relations, said that Oak Park was known for being a high crime and dangerous area but in time it has improved its infrastructure and the police have brought order back to the streets. She also commented that the Medical Center and the new School of Medicine at UC Davis are a sign of prosperity and have brought new vitality and security to area residents.

“Fernández’s idea serves as an example to other investors so they carry out similar projects that benefit the community,” said DeMarois.

During a press conference, investors such as Richard Green, executive director of the Stockton Boulevard Partnership stated that what used to be a street full of closed and deteriorated buildings in a neighborhood surrounded by poverty is now a vibrant and attractive real estate business in the Oak Park area.

Fernández, who was an amateur boxer, said he is also working with people who offer financing for working families like the Hispanic community who come from other countries to achieve the American dream.