Advertainment Has Place Alongside Contextual Advertising

So much has been written about the importance of search engine marketing and its contextual cousin. The search mantra has always been relevance - relevant messages placed in relevant context. Writing in Brand Republic, Digital Marketing Communications Managing Director of Online Viral and Buzz Marketing Justin Kirby asserts those online are not always looking specifically for relevant content but also entertainment. Kirby suggests people are online for diversionary purposes as well and are looking for amusement, and are not just on a hunt and peck mission for a specific piece of information.

This claim supports the use of viral marketing and advertainment. If a piece of advertainment is informative and amusing, it will spread across the web perhaps faster than the most elaborate search engine marketing program. Of course, both tactics have their place and neither one should exclude the other.