The future of banner ads
4 Comments
Peter, a hospitality professor in Berlin, asked me this question the other day:
I realize this is not your field, but you did suggest that the Twitter policy on advertising might influence advertising in general, and with its requirement of resonance as measured by re-tweets or favouriting, Twitter is insisting on interaction with an ad in a way that FIFA sponsors, for example, with their names on cans and T-shirts, do not provide.
I just wondered if the general consumer is maturing beyond the brand name itself and now increasingly requires a relationship with a product or service which makes FIFA-style advertising less profitable, and whether this has been measured.
Have traditional banner ads become less effective over time? Is more interaction now required?
Of course, banner ads are one of the most basic forms of advertising on the Internet, with a history going back to the 1980s when Prodigy used banners to promote Sears products. It makes sense to think considering how much the Web has changed over the past 10 years, traditional banner ads have been decreasing in effectiveness. (Which is the topic of this controversial 2009 TechCrunch article by Eric Clemons)
I’m sure there’s some research out there on the aggregate effectiveness of banner advertising, but I’m more interested in the practical ways you can increase performance from your advertising.
Google’s Display Network
One strong opportunity that I see is in the Google display network, specifically in remarketing campaigns.
In tests I’ve run for my client partners, we’re seeing strong sales performance from even the most basic of banner ads. I’ll be testing this with other images and improved landing pages over time, but based on the initial results, this seems to be an opportunity right now.
Facebook advertising
Another opportunity might be Facebook banners — though the advertising model here is a little different than Google. Using eye-catching images on this platform seems to be a critical success factor (duh). It’s difficult, if not impossible, to compare metrics from AdWords to Facebook. But at the end of the day – depending on your offering – you may find better returns on Facebook.
Google does allow some demographics targeting, but Facebook is even more about the ‘who’ (rather than the ‘what’ of search-based Google queries).
So, are banner ads dead?
No, I don’t think so. But as in all online marketing, publishers have to become a little smarter and look for methods to deliver display advertising only to the people they’re trying to reach. Now more than ever, untargeted advertising will fail.
3 success factors of any online promotion
- getting the right message
- …in front of the right people
- …at the right time.
Do you do any banner ad or display advertising online? If so, where — and what have the results been?
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I think banner ads are far less effective than they once were, when they were more of an exception, rather than what has now become such a heavily saturated area of advertising. In the end, you’re right, it’s going to depend on how targeted the content is.
This is a great post Josiah and it raises many interesting points.
I would like to comment on a few:
First up, I don’t think the Twitter model is going to change our interaction with brands at a mass event such as the Fifa World Cup. For example, the Samsung logo on my favourite football team Chelsea gives it a certain legitimacy in my eyes. The next time I am going to buy a digital product, Samsung will definitely be on my mind. However, at the end of the day, I will probably buy the product that suits my needs the best rather than limit myself to only a Samsung product just because it sponsors the Chelsea football team.
I do most of my advertising on Google Adwords and I find the pay per click module the most advanced of all the methods out there.
I am surprised that you say that you get a great response from banner ads that you do. I have never clicked on a banner ad in my life and I can’t imagine that there are any people out there who do.
Another success story that surprises me is that of Facebook banner ads.
I think that of all the success factors you mention, it is the right time that is most important.
It’s quite simple really.
When I am on Facebook, I want to connect with my friends. When I am searching on Google, that is the time I am ready to buy.
That is why Google Adwords (only search, not on third party sites) makes so much business sense.
Cheers
Mihir
P.S. How is the response to your Google Adwords offer ? Like I said, if you need a guinea pig, I’m on…
Great points, Mihir. I think you’re not alone – many of the hotels I talk with say Adwords is the #1 best ROI ad channel. Perhaps that’s why my offer filled up so quickly!
There is a space for banner ads on the web still, but its purpose is shifting from a more of a direct traffic/sales tool to a more branding heavy strategy.