Many people online really loathe banner ads and find them quite annoying when trying to surf the web. We do know this but we cannot deny the large number of consumers online and the number of hours they spend there. We have to live where they live and be in front of them as much as we can. With the right approach, banner ads can be an effective means of advertising.


First of all, like billboard copy, there are golden rules that need to be followed. Keep it short and simple. Short and simple messages have a stronger focus. Unlike most advertising media, using a question in the copy vs. focusing on a benefit pulls more viewers. Statistics tell us this but give very little rationale as to why. In my opinion, it’s because the majority of these questions contain humor. High volumes of e-commerce happen after five. When the workday ends, people go online to be entertained. What better way to entertain than with humor?

Animate. Animate three times and then STOP. Constantly animating banners are a distraction. Over use of animation is what leads to banner ads to get this bad rap. Most web sites limit animations for this reason.

Always end with the logo or name. If someone doesn’t click on a banner, they might at least notice your company name eventually. Just let it sit there. Banner ads may not be the best tool for creating awareness, but every impression helps.

Over 50 years ago, a CD from the agency that represented Mobil Oil was on-site at their headquarters. He took a tour of the plant and discovered that a small amount of detergent goes into the gasoline. The tagline “drive your Engine Clean” was born.

In todays digital world, we rarely take time to actually know a product or consumer personally. When it comes to primary research, we send off a survey via the Internet.

My favorite way to do primary is through trial and observation. Go visit or buy your product. Try it. Smell it. Taste it. Give it to your family and friends. Watch them use it. Go to a store and observe customers. How much time do they spend looking at your product? How many additional services do they take advantage of? Do they look at the price tag and frown or buy it in bulk?

Firsthand experience gives you important insights that may lead to the big idea. But remember, firsthand experience alone may cause you to think that others may think or behave the same as you. Therefore observation of others is also a critical component of this research method.

Being in the ad industry, we pride ourselves on being creative. And while it is something we are always thinking about, we’ve come to realize one thing: creativity is a fragile thing. If you try to rush it, dictate it, limit it, or add too many rules, you end up with an inferior product.

While our industry hinges on short timelines and on-your-feet thinking, it is important to make sure the creative team has a healthy environment to function within so they can create the best work possible; creativity, ingenuity, and originality must all be fostered. Some features are essential, like open space, music, toys, and a team approach, etc. But something else is essential that we might not consider a quality or necessity of creativity: time.

When our creative team finishes an execution, their work is good. But giving them an extra hour – hell, an extra ten minutes – they can always tweak their work to make it GREAT, whether it be a color change, a new font, or an additional element. Fostering a creative environment that doesn’t put creative under the gun can only bring good things for everyone at an agency.

See what creativity looks like.

In today’s world the talk is all about Social Media Marketing. It is very often confused as Social Marketing. They aren’t even close. I hear professionals continue to use the term incorrectly and it drives me nuts since they are both so important in their own ways.

We all know and have heard us talk about Social Media a lot, so I’d like to just clear up the Social Marketing side of things.

Social Marketing is for the good. For nonprofits, cause, health and other organizations working toward health or social change. In the early 70′s, ad agencies started using marketing techniques to promote the adoption of healthy pro-social behaviors. To change individual behaviors to improve their own health or well-being, or to help society for the greater good.

Today it has evolved and has added the online component as a new medium – the same as any other brand or industry. This is where the confusion in terms may have started. The most famous campaign of all may be the “Truth” campaign orchestrated by one of the best agencies in the biz. We’ve been exposed to Social marketing for years and we just didn’t know what it was. “Stop, Change, Quit.” If you see or hear that in the copy, chances are it’s for a damn good reason and probably pretty informative.

While writing this, I began to think and realized how many Social Marketing clients I have had the pleasure of serving over the years. At this very moment we are in the throws of a campaign to protect and preserve the Chesapeake Bay. And you know what? We’re going to use Social “Media” to help us do it.

The decision of where to place your marketing message used to be a no-brainer. Your choices included broadcast, print or in store media placements. It was simple and the media was simple. As the use of the “world-wide-web” became mainstream, online advertising was born. Marketers were able to add banner ads, email marketing campaigns and more to their arsenal of media options. Then just as marketers became comfortable with the options in online advertising, we have seen the emergence of Social Media and Mobile Marketing. And these platforms are evolving at pace never seen before.

It is more important then ever to understand your target audience and where they are spending their time consuming media. It is becoming more and more about the user experience everyday.

First Changes

Mobile marketing in its simplest form appears as SMS messaging: the user sends a text message to a short code and receives a pre-programmed response from the advertiser. Advertisers have seen the marketing benefits of Mobile Marketing at the point-of-sale influencing purchasing decisions, building consumer relationships, and providing increased consumer intelligence. It is pretty obvious why technology is evolving at such a rapid pace.

Evolution

Already, Mobile Marketing has evolved from standard SMS messaging techniques to Image Recognition technology. We are also quickly seeing the potential of Augmented Reality in the consumer experience. Take for instance Stella Artois’ Le Bar Guide, where using augmented reality allows a mobile application to overlay the profile of bars surrounding your current location. The recent launch of Apple’s iPad has even further exposed potential Mobile Marketing and its effects on how we look at the very definition of “mobile”, and how advertisers choose to spend marketing dollars. Time, Inc. recently released this video demonstration of how tablets are changing their advertising model.

Mix It Up

And while the world of marketing is ever changing, traditional methods still have a place (Apple’s iPad is advertised on the back cover of my latest issue of National Geographic, after all). Traditional marketing still has relevancy, but it might sit next to some new, technologically savvy neighbors in your annual marketing plan. Proper use and integration of new technologies with older ones will be the key to success.