Widget Marketing 101: Plan Ahead So They Will Spread

A year ago, widgets were barely a blip on the direct response radar. Today, they're the Web's hottest trend and are page-one material on the blogosphere beat.

Response: September 1, 2007
By Timothy R. Hawthorne

Media Zone: Widget Marketing 101: Plan Ahead So They Will Spread

A year ago, widgets were barely a blip on the direct response radar. Today, they're the Web's hottest trend and are page-one material on the blogosphere beat.

Widgets are small applications that people run directly from desktops or Web pages - usually on blogs and social networking sites. Marketers have spawned thousands of widgets, ranging from simple temperature displays and stock tickers, to miniature storefronts that rotate new products.

Deploy or Develop?

Marketers use widgets in two basic ways. The first is to deploy third-party applications on your own site. For instance, you can simply and quickly enable live chat with a widget like AOL's Wimzi. (http:// http://wimzi.aim.com/) Within minutes, prospective customers can ask questions — and read your answers — at the moment they're ready to buy.

But the reigning strategy is to entice users to drop your widget onto their sites. On social networks like Facebook and MySpace, it's really that simple. You click an add button or drag the widget where you want it. You see the results right away.

Before you hop aboard the widget bandwagon, (find hundreds at: http:// http://widgets.yahoo.com/gallery/) remember there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all marketing tool. Basic marketing principles still apply. Before you hire Mr. Widget to code one for your company, ask this simple question: how might your widget return revenue?

The Widget Bottom Line

Benefits vary by goal and design, but each has potential to boost your bottom line:

• Direct Sales. JCPenney and Random House have developed mini-storefronts. Users can browse and buy clothing and books. eBay automates a changing selection of auction items. Amazon and Wal-Mart offer toolbars that allow surfers to search products without losing their place on the Web.

• Drive Traffic. Widgets that provide value significantly boost traffic. HotOrNot's Facebook widget helped its traffic more than double. http://Slide.com/ tripled its numbers. RockYou upped its count by more than four times.
• Drive Retail. Many retailers' widgets feature products and sales at nearby locations. Disney's entertainment widget includes pitches to visit its theme parks.
• Branding. By branding the interface of its news widget, ESPN establishes itself as a leader in sports information. Panda's anti-virus widget strengthens its presence in computer security.
• Third-Party Revenue. Forbes gets double the bang for its development buck. Its business news widget not only strengthens the brand, Forbes also sells ads to accompany the news.

Of course, none of these benefits accrue if users don't like what your widget has to offer. Profit may be your end, but your means is the widget's utility.

You can offer people headlines, forecasts, TV listings or alerts to upcoming sales. But give them something. Just like that short-form you recently launched, you need a good offer to drive good response.

Timothy R. Hawthorne is chairman and executive creative director of hawthorne direct inc., a full-service DRTV ad agency founded in 1986. A 33-year television producer/writer/ director, Hawthorne is a cum laude Harvard graduate.