The company recently ran an effective integrated campaign, but Stein hopes for even greater understanding of consumer behavior in 2005.

Pam Stein is manager, Internet Marketing for United Airlines. She manages all online advertising for united.com and its various product lines. She manages the ad agency, working to develop and execute strategic media programs: banner, email, search and affiliate. She also leads the various teams (internal and external) that develop all creative support for united.com.

iMediaConnection: What was your most successful online or integrated campaign recently and what made it successful?

Stein: I think our p.s. (Premium Service) product launch is the most integrated campaign I have seen recently. It integrated all components … sales, offline and online media, collateral, in-airport and on-board communications. Overall, all pieces were working together to be as integrated and effective as we could be. You can see more at www.united.com/ps.

iMediaConnection: What is the greatest benefit of online advertising? The ability to measure? Precisely target? Gather data? Something else?

Stein: The greatest benefit to us is the level of targeting we can do with our advertising and our ability to track it all. What is refreshing and great news at United is that we are also starting in 2005 to do much more branding work as well.

iMediaConnection: Speaking of targeting -- are you doing any behavioral targeting? Explain what you have done.

Stein: Yes, we have, both sites' side (i.e. Yahoo!) as well as with the software download companies (Claria, SOHO Digital). We are able to target the travel audience both while they are on travel sites/areas and when they are not. It opens up the volume of consumers we can reach who are pre-qualified and primed to buy.

iMediaConnection: What still frustrates you most about online advertising? What can be done to improve the situation?

Stein: I think [understanding] overall consumer behavior knowledge is frustrating to me -- how consumers interact with my marketing within and across channels. Also -- understanding the value of the conversions we get … what is truly incremental business?

iMediaConnection: Are you being affected by any consumer-generated marketing (CGM) -- blogs, user groups, etc.? Are you using any blogs or other social networking tools to market?

Stein: No we are not affected, and haven't really gone down the road of blogs to date.

iMediaConnection: Have you found agencies to be able to handle your changing interactive/integrated needs? What could still be better?

Stein: Yes, they are. The one thing I would like to see happening better is greater integration with the SEMs. Otherwise, my agency has been outstanding with their service, results and the ability to work with the rest of our offline and promotional agencies.

iMediaConnection: Have you done much with wireless?

Stein: No, we have not done much, but it's something that is on our radar screen for the future.

iMediaConnection: It's the beginning of a new year. What do you hope to accomplish this year?

Stein: I hope to better understand our customers' behavior patterns, the best ways to reach them at the right time (across all our digital channels) and how we can best drive incremental business and monetize as many of our assets as we can. We are off to a great start with record-breaking performance for united.com.

iMediaConnection: What are you reading these days, other than iMediaConnection.com, of course?

Stein: Well, I am a book horse. So aside from iMedia (industry wise), I do read ClickZ, Search Engine Watch, Media Post, etc. But my reading outside of the industry is so much more interesting, I think. Currently I'm reading “The Dogs of Babel,” and I recently finished “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.”  My book shelves are filled with all sorts of things I need to find time for!