Rich Media Ads Bring Home the Bacon

Rich media ads are a popular trend in the world of online advertising. Over the past couple of years, online advertising has moved away from the more conventional, static textual ads and now leans more towards interactive, dynamic content that can be highly customized for the brand and user experience.

Although they may not look like anything special upon first glance, rich media ads often come to life the moment that you move your mouse over the image. Each ad is different and created for a unique purpose, but many have similar characteristics. They expand up or expand down; they have a short animation that loops to repeat itself; or the entire homepage will become customized for the user in what is known as a "homepage skin." These rich media ads can include everything from video to online games and they can also include content from Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook streams, according to Evelyn Rusli on Tech Crunch. (1) They are defined as those with which users can interact as opposed to solely animation, and they include such formats as transitionals and various over-the-page units such as floating ads, page take-overs and tear-backs. (2)

These ads are regulated by the Internet Advisory Board (IAB) is a committee charged with overseeing all internet marketing activity and upholding established industry standards. The IAB plays the role of "sheriff" in the wild west of the world of Internet marketing. With recent growth of rich media advertising over the past several years, the IAB has amended its guidelines to better suit this growing trend.

In general, the IAB guidelines provide clarity for online advertising and many of the major stakeholders in the online ad industry, such as AOL, Walk Disney, Condenast, and Google, have joined the IAB as project partners in the effort to regulate a fair industry. Guidelines include: ad definitions, acceptable counting methods, and guidelines for filtration, cacheing, auditing, and disclosure. These guidelines are “intended to cover on-line browser or browser-equivalent based Internet activity." (3) They do not cover wireless, off-line cached media and Interactive-based television because of differences in infrastructure and/or delivery method. Another important thing to keep in mind is that the metrics continue to change with the industry; therefore, these guidelines will probably continue to evolve over time.

Ad formatting allowances for host sites often varies. The easiest way to better understand the IAB guidelines is to compare ad specs for popular web publishing companies. I looked at Media Kits for Martha Stewart Weddings and the New Yorker. Both companies accept rich media ads; however, the New Yorker is more specific in their ad specs.

The New Yorker accepts interstitial (full-page ads that appear before the actual webpage), push down ads, and video. Ads must less than 30 seconds in length, if video or animation is used (the price of the ad varies depending on the length and features used). Video ads can loop up to 3 times, but they can never rollover to replay. Interstitial ads are limited to 640x480 dimensions, whereas push downs can expand up to 970x418, but they must collapse to 970x66. Push down ads are set by the vendor, but must push content down and cannot expand over preexisting content. All ads must be hosted by an approved rich media vendor, which I assume helps the New Yorker (and really Condenast at large) maintain a standard of quality and legality. (4)

At Martha Stewart Weddings site, rich media ads must be hosted by a third party vendor, as well. Martha Stewart sets some standard sizing limitations, but is less stringent on exact sizing for each combined advertising option. Instead, this company stresses that all ads must be user initiated –including audio. The X button must be visible at all times, enabling the viewer to exit out of the ad at any time.  Any in-banner ads must be hosted on the homepage; videos can only loop once and must not be longer than 30 seconds. Ads cannot solicit funds or deem the viewer a “winner” for a particular contest. Any click through feature must open the URL in a new window, so that the viewer can return to the host site more easily and does not feel as if he/she has left the page. (5)

The above sites illustrate the industry guidelines established by IAB, and also the individual allowances that each company has made for their online media marketing. In general, the goal is to protect the consumer and to make online advertising a helpful, enjoyable feature – not something that creates frustration. If that were the case, it would prove to do more harm than good and would sabotage any campaign whose goal was to make a profit.

These options are popular with advertisers because they are popular with consumers. As long as it is not annoying, the interaction between the user and the ad feature can be a very positive experience; one might argue that it is reflective of the culture of the current "social graph" on the web. Simply put, people are more inclined to pay attention to a product that demands their attention, versus one that lies flat on the page. The ad directs more traffic to the landing page, which subsequently results in a higher conversion rates and sales/revenue.

Rich media online advertising is not only more effective, but it provides the marketing brand with a much richer data set on its user demographic than the average static ad with text only. Tech Crunch says that the real value of a rich media ad is hidden in a store of valuable user data. Not only can you capture the number of impressions, but the brand can discover how a user is interacting with the ad and which tabs/services are most popular. It’s a window into the consumer, his/her online habits and a way to gauge the success of a social media strategy. (6) This insight allows that brand to refine overall strategy, messaging, and target audience.

All of these things will allow for a more cost-effective and successful marketing campaign. Adding video to a rich media ad is something akin to inserting the "special sauce" ingredient to a dish. Rich media drives purchase intent, brand awareness, brand flavorability, balance, and helps better craft overall messaging for the campaign. When a brand chooses to invest more dollars into video, aligning this format with the proper target audience (with evidence based research back it up), it is bound to see an increase in performance rate across the board. 

A Double Click research report released in 2009 says that exposing audiences to a single rich media with video ad results in an average 1.16% increase in purchase intent among exposed groups compared to the control group. Using rich media without video results in an average 0.50% increase over the control group. Simple Flash shows the poorest results at driving purchase intent. When your goal is to sell, use rich media formats. (7)

Although it seems obvious that rich media advertising is the best choice, it is also the most expensive and is not always an option for a brand, due to budgetary or scheduling limitations. The price of customizing the ad creative and the cost of advertising a rich media ad with a host site is much greater than when using a static ad. For this reason, it is important to carefully choose the ad format that you use -- and do this on a case to case basis. What works for one campaign, may not work for another. The most important thing is to plan ahead and remember that first impressions count. (8) Start by delivering a rich media ad with video to expose your audience to the best possible snapshot of your brand. However, if cost is an issue, keep it simple. The ad doesn't have to be interactive; use static messaging to drive the campaign, but choose video when possible. Most important, put the message front and center. Don't rely on people to click on the ad, in order to get the message.

This article is the part of a series of posts that I will make throughout my graduate studies in Marketing and Communications. With a focus on both healthcare and interactive marketing, I hope to gain a better understanding for effective health messaging--which I think plays a key role in a happy, healthy society. Please leave your comments or write to me: camorous@gmail.com.

Resources

(1,6) Rusli, Evelyn (2010). ClickTurn: Build Rich Media Ads In Half An Hour. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/24/clickturn-build-rich-media-ads-in-half-an-hour/

(2, 3) IAB - Rich Media Creative Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.iab.net/guidelines/508676/guidelines/Rich_Media_Measurement, http://www.iab.net/media/file/IAB_Rich_Media_Measurement_11_12_07.pdf and  http://www.iab.net/guidelines/508676/508767/Rich_Media

(4)The New Yorker - Rich Media Ad Specifications. Retrieved from http://www.condenast.com/brands/new-yorker/media-kit/web/ad-specifications

(5) Martha Stewart Weddings- 2012 Media Kit. Retrieved from http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/sites/files/marthastewartweddings.com/MSW_2012_Media_Kit.pdf

(7,8) Cole, Spaulding, and Fayer (2009). The Brand Value of Rich Media and Video Ads. Retrieved from http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/doubleclick/pdfs/DoubleClick-06-2009-The-Brand-Value-of-Rich-Media-and-Video-Ads.pdf

Washington Post - Media Kit Ad Specs. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/media_kit/adspecs/index.html

New York Times Ad Intro. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/ads/Intro.html

www.what the heck am I doing.com

When working in PR/Marketing, it's only a matter of time before you will be asked to help redesign a website. If you are one of the lucky few who never has this task (not to say it's not enjoyable, it's just tedious) then "Lucky you!" You still need to understand the ins and outs of a good site, in order to strategically place ad campaigns. 


Tell the Brand Story
A website serves as the "home base" for your brand. The strategy behind a website should be to create an accessible and easy-to-use website that embodies your organization's brand and legitimizes your message. When a marketer is speaking on the phone to the media, referencing his or her company to clients, or providing feedback to a board of directors, it is important to have a website that represents the entire company and highlights the significance of the work being done. In some sense, a website should tell a story on its own -- as a website visit can be a one time chance to capture the attention of the user.


Aesthetics 
Web layout and visual appeal are key. It is important to keep the branding consistent across the board for an organization or company, so the color palette for the website should align with the logo and other existing branding. A website should also use color combinations that make the text readable and easy to recognize (sometimes dark colors on dark backgrounds can make text undetectable). Consistent branding is also important as often users visit the site after tying a keyword into a search engine, such as Google. It is important that they recognize where they are and that the site branding confirms that they have come to the correct place. Otherwise, they will immediately exit the site and, thus, contribute to the "bounce rate" in your site analytics (something you'd rather keep low - trust me!)


Navigation & User Experience 
Visual appearance is only part of the equation for the perfect website. The navigation and layout of the site are also critical to creating a comfortable, easy environment for users. The "user experience" is what determines popularity of a site, the number of page visits, and the length of time that one user will spend browsing content. If a site is easy to navigate - meaning the navigation is intuitive, well marked, and fast- then the user will be happy. From that point on, good content will speak for itself. Interesting reading, helpful material such as downloadable PDFs, and interactive video will capture the user's attention. Content should be written in plain English- no clinical jargon or academic prose.


Know Your Audience
Keep in mind the unique needs that your users may have, as well as their expectations. You want their experience at your website to be a memorable, pleasant experience. Whether that means going out of you way to make online accommodations for vision or hearing impaired users; streaming news feeds or stock market updates to maintain user attention; or providing a "one stop shop" portal for users to access a list of resources, in addition to your site, that might meet their needs if they did not find what they needed at your site.  Much of the reasoning behind choosing a site layout should be to make the user experience easy for all audiences: community members, educators, physicians, students, and patients who may be accessing the site as a resource. When considering a patient, it is important to remember that some times symptoms of an illness can make everyday tasks challenging. Just another reason to tailor your user's web experience as best you can. Enabling access for people of all abilities is key to building a sustainable website.


Personalize it!
Website personalization is an area where health communicators have to proceed with great caution. Any app or login feature would need to be highly secure in order to protect patient health information and confidentiality. A login feature gives users who frequent a site the ability to participate in multiple event registrations, surveys, or webinars without re-entering registration info each time. Instead, the form would pre-populate with their info, made possible using cookies. Personalization does greatly enhance user experience. The information that users volunteer when they login, becomes an important piece of intel for marketing strategy. We will discuss this in a future post. 


Mobile Ready
Finally, in the current times it is crucial that a website be "skinned" for mobile devices. Everyone accesses the web via iPhones, Androids, iPads, eNotebooks, etc. and a company can miss out on an opportunity to engage a user if the website shows up in very poor quality on a mobile device. Nothing is more frustrating to a user then finding a website and then realizing that it is impossible to access half of the site because it goes off the screen. 


Do the work for your user - make the content easy to access. For me, this is the real message when it comes to website best practices for websites.

References:


http://www.homebaseprogram.org/ http://ask.enquiro.com/2010/a-big-list-of-user-experience-best-practices/

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/11/best-practices-for-6-common-user-interface-elements/

http://mobilewebbestpractices.com/user-experience/


This article is the part of a series of posts that I will make throughout my graduate studies in Marketing and Communications. With a focus on both healthcare and interactive marketing, I hope to gain a better understanding for effective health messaging--which I think plays a key role in a happy, healthy society. Please leave your comments or write to me: camorous@gmail.com.