Online media has struggled to meet both criteria that make the brand opportunity in TV so compelling: scale and psychology. The internet has undoubtedly given marketers scale, as millions of users flock to search engines on a daily basis.
Until recently, the psychology that makes TV a friendly medium for brands has not existed for the online sector. The introduction of social media extensions, however, has enabled a distribution platform for discovering rich, engaging promotional microsites that can capture the hearts of internet users.
This article in iMedia is one that I have been working on for a few months at StumbleUpon and couldn’t be more excited to see it taking off. Give it a read and pass along any feedback that you may have.
MediaPost reported last week that the more times you show your banner ad in front of a consumer, the more likely you are to have your ad clicked. What else helps drive clicks? Placing your ad above the fold.
Do the results shock you? The photo above was my niece’s reaction when I told her these findings.
Studies like this reflect my top challenge with the current state of affairs that brands view in terms of their options online. I understand why the good folks at Casale Media run studies like this: provide thought leadership in the industry to show what works with the given cards.
But here’s the problem: your window to capture someone to interact with your ad when it comes to any form of banners is minuscule. The study even admits this, saying “Campaigns often suffocate from reduced share of voice on cluttered Web pages.” No kidding. The ad is a distraction from the user’s ultimate intent.
Last week, I came across a question on Quora that got my gears spinning that touched upon the question: What is the biggest constraint to great digital brand advertising? My answer: user expectation and intent.
As advertisers continue to experiment with the right way to convey their brand, we’ll hear less of these “make your ads abundant and intrusive” stories and start to hear more about how brands find organic ways to reach their target audience.
