Introduction

Interactive Media as a Marketing Tool

Definitions

Resurgence of Online Advertising

Interactive Media's Effectiveness in Advertising

Burger King's Interactive

McLuhan and Marketing

Future of Interactive Media and Marketing

References

Selling Through Playing

When we think of online marketing and advertising, we wince.

Especially the pop-ups, pop-unders, float-overs, etc. It is the epitome of what went wrong with the Internet. The commercialization of the last bastion of commerce-free community and entertainment. The Internet was once a place you could go to avoid the barrage of sponsorship and selling, but it didn't last that way for very long. Soon, blinking banners reminiscent of ugly neon highway signs began cluttering up every page, begging you to buy, hounding your attention.

Banner ads were once the most popular, and remain that way today. But the evolution of the banner ad spawned the dreaded pop-ups and pop-unders, so incredibly loathed by consumers that special software had to be developed to stop this nagging spectacle. And let's not forget about SPAM. That too is an example of one of the last commercial-free communication zones. Seems big business is competing for every bit of real estate and then some.

But there may be a new trend. One that technology is spawning; one that gives the power back to the consumer. One that has promise for innovation and fun, not just annoyance and greed (well, maybe greed).

I am referring to the use of interactive media in marketing and advertising. A "new" way to approach marketing, one that holds promise for expansion of ideas in marketing and technology. One that exists online and offline. One that may put the power back to the consumer.

Case Study Focus

This is a case study focused on the rise of interactive media usage in marketing and advertising, with a focus on one of the most innovative interactive advertising campaigns developed: Burger King's re-emergence of the "Have it Your Way" theme.

This study takes a look at the resurgence of advertising online, and discusses its effectiveness, as well as examines the Burger King campaign and how it is has been viewed by the industry.

Specifically, the following items are addressed:

• Defining relative marketing terms;
• Measuring the resurgence of online advertising;
• Burger King's integrated and interactive marketing campaign;
• The effectiveness of interactive media;
• McLuhan's theory of communication and how it applies to interactive marketing; and
• The future of interactive media use in advertising.

A New Medium to Harvest

Interactive Media is like the new vehicle for advertisers to drive their messages home. We look first at how this new technology serves as a new tool for advertisers.