What Attracts [a click]

In an article in today's NY Times Business section, Stephanie Clifford describes the brave new world of customized ad generation (without actually calling it that), and features the work of two companies--Adisn in Long Beach and Tumri in Mountain View, both in California. (Mad Men, take notice, the '60s are over and California is now.) In a few words, it is about setting up a database with hundreds of background colors, images, and messages, and then doing the market research to see which combination most appeals to each defined target, and then delivering that custom combo when the target customer is detected by the browser. The article ends with a nod to the perceived discomfort of "great art directors" with the process, as if the multiples aren't art directed, or maybe it is because the computer/marketing generated process acknowledges the subjectivity of the design, that there are as many design solutions as there are customers (or at least customer types.)

What the article fails to address is that the real distinction lies in the wide gap between the elicitation of immediate response to the "click here" ads and the slow building of a lasting impression (brand recognition) through multiple viewings of the same image and words that will eventually inspire action. With the first, attraction leads to impulsive action. With the second, attraction is based on building good memories. It's about relationships. Or is it? How many times have you bought something online and then later been unable to remember where you found it? If it's a product available from multiple sources (printer ink cartridges is a big one for me), do you want to buy from the same source as last time or do you just start over with the search for the cheapest? I think this is where everything has changed in how we buy things--the search engines give us incredible power to find exactly what we want at the cheapest price. The old days of comparative shopping--going to a few different stores before buying, or calling around to check price and availability--seem quaint. And particularly in tough economic times, the feel-good social/civic pride in shopping locally seems too luxurious. "I got it online for 60% off" is the new feel-good. The relationship is no longer affordable.