Business Memo: How to generate results with your online advertising
It's the creative, stupid!
Penny Schneck -- Home Accents Today, 11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
If you have run ads online and been disappointed by the results, it may have more to do with the creative than the medium.
Certainly, identifying the right Web site to reach your target audience, as well as where your ad appears on the site are key criteria to a successful online ad campaign. However, in the data-driven world of Web marketing where marketing managers agonize over open rates, click-through rate and impressions, the effectiveness of the creative is often overlooked.
Some important components to your creative:
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Focus on the goal of your ad before beginning creative. Is your objective lead generation, brand awareness, foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar store or to drive traffic directly to your Web site? If it is the later, don't be subtle. Be sure there is a call to action to get the reader to click on your ad. Include words like "find out how," "act now" or "click to save now."
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Make sure your company name and logo appear continuously on the ad even if it rotates or includes animation. Don't leave your company name until the last pane of your ad. Readers may only glance at your ad. Also, different browsers have unique characteristics. An ad viewed through Internet Explorer may show the animation, but Safari may block your animation. Your company or product name should appear in the first panel and every panel of any animated ad. Readers should get your core message from the very first ad panel and every ad panel should be able to stand on its own.
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Make a compelling offer. Why should anyone click on your ad? Consider a special offer or preview a new, must-see product. Get to the point quickly. Value-proposition advertising is more effective than teaser messages. A slow reveal of your message just doesn't work online unless you're doing a well-executed video.
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Use people in your ads. In a study of more than 170,000 online ads conducted by Dynamic Logic, ads using images of people performed better than those that did not. In another study by Marketing Sherpa (Online Advertising Handbook, 2008) adding pictures of people to online ads increased ad effectiveness by 53.2%.
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Add interactivity to your ad using tactics such as:
a. data entry fields such as e-mail sign-up or product search;
b. video;
c. games or quiz questions;
d. multiple links with various calls to action. -
Use audio carefully. Ads that include audio can start automatically as the Web page loads or require user action. While audio that starts on its own can be a great attention grabber, it also can irritate or embarrass viewers, and negatively impact your brand. A good compromise is to use a visual queue to attract the viewer's attention and get them to turn on the sound.
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Bigger is better. Larger ad sizes generally perform better than smaller ad sizes. Larger ad units generate more awareness, and more clicks but they also cost more. Neither height nor length is a factor in improving ad performance. Actual placement of the ad on the page is a greater influencing factor on campaign success.
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Consider rich media ads such as expandable ad units. We've all experienced those annoying ads that temporarily block our ability to read content on a Web site — but they work! Our experience at Reed shows that rich media ads typically enjoy more than three times the click-through rate of standard display ads. Figure out a way for your ad to be intrusive but helpful at the same time and you can simultaneously increase awareness and move prospects through the buying cycle toward purchase.
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Make sure the ad creative and its corresponding landing page (where the user ends up once they do click on your ad) are consistent in design and message. If your ad is about wall decor make sure the landing page focuses on the single topic of wall decor.
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Design to perform
As an example of a well-designed ad, I've shown below one of the best performing ads to run on one of Reed's retail Web sites. This ad incorporates many of the recommendations I've noted above. Can you identify them?
Finally, remember the importance of maintaining a persistent image to boost brand recall. Marketers know one radio spot or one print ad is just not enough to build brand recognition and see an impact. The same principle applies online.
Individuals are more likely to click on an ad after the third or fourth impressions vs. the first. IProspect's Search Marketing and Display Advertising Integration Study (May 2009) reports that after being exposed to an online display ad, nearly half of users eventually perform a search related to the ad. In fact, a combination of both online display and search advertising increased conversion by 22% compared to online search alone. Many people don't click on display ads, but an interesting ad can provoke a search for more information.
There is mounting research that quantifies the value of online advertising beyond the click. Metrics such as brand awareness, purchase intent and engagement rates are now used to evaluate ad effectiveness. In fact, ComScore reports that display ads, regardless of clicks, not only generate more online searches, but also increase both online and offline sales among those exposed to the ads.
We would love your feedback!
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