Question

Topic: E-Marketing

Is Online Marketing An Atl Activity?

Posted by Anonymous on 5/17/2010 at 1:53 AM ET 250 Points
Hi All,

Generally, we define ATL activity as the one which involves promotion through TV, Radio, Print ads, Sponsorship, etc. In short, these activities would not result into immediate Sales Lead, but facilitate to create Brand Image for the company in longer run.

My query is- can we call Online Marketing as an ATL activity. If yes, then do SEO and SEM come under this head?

Would appreciate your valuable views
Thanks!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 5/17/2010 at 3:26 AM Author
    Thanks Karen for the response.

    Just to summarize your view-
    -Online Marketing is an ATL Activity
    -SEO- Neither ATL nor BTL
    -SEM-ATL

    Have read in some article that SEO and SEM are part of Online Marketing. So why we consider Online Marketing as an ATL activity and SEO is neither ATL nor BTL.

    Other than that SEM facilitates to generate instant sales lead, so why dont we call it as an BTL activity.

  • Posted by Harry Hallman on 5/17/2010 at 8:02 AM Member
    I would say no. You can say Social media is ATL by your definition, but online marketing also includes advertising such as Google ads. That defiantly results in direct leads and sales.

    I also do not agree that SEO is totally ATL, again by your definition, because it drives traffic that can produce leads and sales.

    Although Social Media can create direct leads and sales, overall it tends to influence purchasing along with other media. So that is why I say it could be ATL.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 5/17/2010 at 8:58 AM Moderator
    I don't understand what difference it makes if you label a particular activity ATL or BTL. If it accomplishes a clear objective then you do it. What you call it doesn't put money in your bank account.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 5/18/2010 at 10:23 AM Member
    The origin of the terms ATL and BTL was that back in the day, agencies got industry-agreed commissions on ATL but not on BTL activities.

    BTL activities were just charged at whatever seemed like a fair thing. Which is why some agencies got into production and other value added activities.

    Which goes to prove mgoodman's point - ATL or BTL is an anachronistic and unhelpful designation.

    Focus on objectives, rather than meaningless jargon and nomenclature.
  • Posted by Krista on 5/20/2010 at 1:33 AM Member
    Hi there: I agree with mgoodman. It doesn't matter what label or category you put it in. As a saying goes, it does not matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches a rat, it's a good cat! ;-) As long as your activity accomplishes its goal, it's a worthwhile activity!

  • Posted by Clive Fernandes on 5/20/2010 at 4:23 AM Accepted
    Dear Ramesh,

    I would have to disagree with Karen's statement of SEM being purely ATL activity. SEM can be used for both branding and direct sales. In my opinion, it depends less on the medium itself but more on how it is used.

    To cite a specific example, you could use Google Ad-words for both Branding(ATL) and direct sales(BTL). If its branding you are looking for, you would probably go with display ads on a CPM rate. This would make sure that your message gets out there in the eyes of your target market.

    On the other hand, if direct sales are your goal, you would be best served by CTR text ads on the Google search property itself.

    Hope this helps.

    Best Regards,
    Clive Fernandes
    Clive Fernandes Consulting
  • Posted on 5/20/2010 at 4:50 AM Author
    Hi Clive,

    Thanks for your valuable inputs.
    Finally got some response, relevant to my query.
    Would appreciate if you can give some inputs on SEO too.
    Thanks once again.

    Regards
    Ramesh
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