Why Widgets Don't Work

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Sure, some widgets give users something to do—"here, play with our virtual sheep-throwing game and pass it to your friends!" But there's a difference between giving consumers a Frisbee and getting them to listen to your pitch or remember your name.

This is a crucial distinction. If consumers don't remember you, they won't buy your product. Here's a test. If you use Gmail or another Web e-mail service, it usually inserts little text ads on the side of your computer screen as you type away to friends. Close your eyes and try to think of just three ad messages you've seen while e-mailing during the past year. Can't do it? That's because the ad reached you while you were doing, not hunting.

Widget Allure

The allure of widgets is powerful for marketers because they hint at the holy grail of marketing: that they'll go "viral"—imagine your message passed around among millions of people without having to pay for all those impressions. Author Seth Godin calls this an ideavirus; journalist Malcolm Gladwell calls it a tipping point. The idea sells lots of business books; few have figured out how to do it.

Widgets can be a useful extension of your brand, but only if included in a broader portfolio of Internet outreach. The days of having a single Web site are gone, because people are spending much of their time in "doing" mode. Widgets, blogs, online video, public relations, and microsites are all ways to extend your reach online. But you can't rely on a single application, especially since there are now more than 14,000 competing widgets on Facebook alone.

Widget Worthiness

We suggest four simple tests to see whether widgets are right for you:

• Will your widget reach hunters and not doers? Hunters still exist online; that's why Google pay-per-click campaigns continue to work well. The trick is finding the audience when they are in that mindset.

• Will your viral application reach the right target? A recent "viral video" by the British skin products company Elave showed nude people walking around talking about eczema medication. Provocative? Yes. Viral? Of course. But we're certain the ad reached the wrong demographic: Young men looking at risqué models, not women shopping for skin ointments.

• Does your product lend itself to engaging consumers? For example, if you sell mortgage refinancing, it may make sense to launch widgets that give users a chance to sort through rates with an interactive tool. The key here is getting people to engage with your core message, not just the clever widget.

• Can you launch a widget even if it doesn't go viral? If you can afford to spend thousands of dollars on a widget application and have it go nowhere, fine. But when it comes to turning ad dollars into new customers, the widget may be no more effective than any other form of advertising.

A few weeks ago, we spoke with a sales representative at an Internet advertising network and asked how his clients were using widgets. He said click-through rates were down, so some clients were now placing Internet banner ads to drive traffic to the widget applications. Hmm, we thought. If you need to run ads to get people to your ads, maybe you have a problem.

Kunz is director of strategic planning for Mediassociates, a media planning firm.