NEW YORK, NY – Since the early settlement of this part of the country, it has been known to the inhabitants of the vicinity that there was a spot somewhere along the ledge of the rocks on the side of the mountain north of the stream from which issued a strong current of cold air -- so strong indeed that in summer it chilled the hunter as he passed near it. It was familiarly called the 'Blowing Rock,' and no person ever ventured to remove the underbrush and rubbish that obscured the entrance, lest probably some hobgoblin or wild beast should pounce upon him as legal prey."

Hobgoblin, indeed. I wish people still wrote like that. The unaccredited author is describing Howe Caverns in upstate New York. While perhaps not nationally known, if you had grown up within 100 miles of the site, or frequented the area for summer vacations, you would be familiar with the attraction. Perhaps, too, you would recall billboards on Interstate 90 with the image of an intrepid young boy, lantern in hand, venturing into the unexplored depths of one of the largest caves on the Eastern seaboard. (And perhaps you, too, experienced crushing disappointment when the tour commenced and no lanterns were handed out, the entire cave being well-lit by recessed isle lighting, giving the cave all the foreboding of a twilight stroll across your back patio).

I remember these things, though I have not thought of them in a decade or more. My memory was recently triggered, however, by a well-placed and well-designed banner ad promoting the attraction. By "well-placed," I mean it was well-timed (summer Saturday morning) and well-targeted (shown to me, someone within driving distance, on a highly reputable national news and opinion website). And by, "well designed," I mean that it was visually stunning, attention-grabbing, and inviting of discovery.

I found the entire experience incredibly compelling for three reasons. First, this was an incredibly effective banner ad: a 468x60, no less. Many senior marketing executives with whom I speak have written off banner advertising altogether and focus their online efforts exclusively on search marketing. The problem with search marketing, however, is that it doesn't scale. In order to create more scale these executives focus on television, radio, and even print, having written off demand creation via online ads as a waste of time and money. The Howe Caverns ad demonstrates that demand creation online is possible, so long as the targeting and the creative come together in just the right way. This is hard to execute, and likely why so many have given it up.

Thus, the second reason I found this experience notable. How is it that Howe Caverns, a regional tourist attraction with the limited resources of such, is getting this right when so many others are getting it wrong? I tried to figure out who executed the creative, but could not track it down. Either way, I tip my hat to them, and not only for the creative itself but for the aforementioned ad placement and targeting as well. I am really curious to know how they conceived and executed the strategy, (and I think it's fair to assume there was a strategy here and not just dumb luck).

The third and final reason I dwell on the experience of seeing the Howe Caverns ad is because of what happened after I saw it. I was curious, and began searching for information. Who owns Howe Caverns and how are they financing an honest to goodness online campaign? What have they done to the caverns in the 25 years since I last visited? And can I finally explore its full depths at my leisure by the light of an oil lantern? This dynamic is how interactive advertising is supposed to work: awareness compels information gathering, and information gathering compels action.

What has made search so powerful as an advertising vehicle is its hyper-relevance and its democratic access. To date nothing has come close to matching search in its utility to advertisers and consumers alike, and its appeal to a broad spectrum of small, medium and large businesses.

What Howe Caverns has done, however, demonstrates a new frontier opening in the advertising landscape, in which small and medium-sized businesses can execute effectively and deliver results that are, if not as effective, at least as compelling as those generated through search. And given the interplay between display advertising and search activity, these businesses should be able to use this new opportunity to better scale their already effective search campaigns. Ten years ago it was small and mid-sized businesses who first harnessed the opportunity in search marketing after it was forgotten and passed over by larger advertisers. Is that dynamic playing out again in online display?

Copyright 2009 MediaPost Communications. All rights reserved. From http://www.mediapost.com. By Matt Greitzer.
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