by Corinne
26. February 2009 15:34
Compare the Meerkat, we salute you. This contemporary web marketing campaign has perfectly demonstrated the potential for crossover from TV to online advertising, with the charismatic meerkat Aleksandr Orlov persuading viewers of his TV ad to ‘compare the meerkat’ on his website.
Once there, visitors are able to find all kinds of meerkats, such as, ‘scuba diving meerkat in Rio’, and then compare that particular meerkat to other kinds of meerkat, thus pleasingly mirroring the main site, Compare the Market.
Although this may have been intended primarily as a brand awareness campaign, in fact 21% of Compare the Meerkat viewers went on to visit Compare the Market, causing visits to the main site to soar by 86% in January, according to Hitwise.
This terribly modern online marketing campaign has also capitalised on the booming social media market, replicating the meerkat persona with over 200,000 fans on Facebook and over 5,000 followers on Twitter for the most enthusiastic Orlov fans (including atomic).
