Online advertising is constantly evolving, and online campaigns are now more measurable, dependable and efficient than those in the offline world. At eBay, display marketing is seen as a way to connect people with things they need and love. Luke Tillo of the eBay Internet Marketing team explains how.

What is display marketing? 

It’s anything from Facebook ads to text logos to online video, and includes a lot of mobile advertising.  There’s often a misconception that display marketing is banner advertising – which it does include – but display marketing has developed into much more. For example, the vast majority of mobile marketing spend is through Display. Our team’s work is divided into three areas: Operations, which focuses on the creative and tracking; Campaign Management; and Analytics, which measures our success.

How do display ads help connect people to the things they need and love?

We can create in real time an ad that is based on the user’s purchase history, or “propensity to buy.” If a user has bought a camera and film recently, we can build an ad in real time that shows the buyer a lens or camera stand or other accessory. The customer may not realize that they “need” these accessories, and we make it easier for them to get these extras more quickly and conveniently.

How has display marketing evolved?

It started out with static banners, and over the past 4-5 years, we now have the ability to pull in live eBay listings into our banners. We are now an industry leader in mobile marketing. Video is the next medium to master.

What’s the future for display marketing?

I would love to see us get to a point where a customer on the internet searches or expresses intent for an item, and in real time, eBay shows them a banner or video or mobile ad that is compelling enough to make them purchase on eBay in their current session.

We kicked off our integrated advertising campaign yesterday and, as promised, I sat down with a few folks instrumental in making it all happen. Up first is Deirdre Findley, Sr. Director of Consumer Marketing for eBay, who sat down with me to chat about the campaign in greater detail and how it differs from previous marketing efforts.

Cheers,
RBH

Part 1: A Conversation with Deirdre Findlay