Advertising on the Internet
“It isn’t creative until it sells”
in other words….
Creativity (and technologies too) don’t matter if the ads don’t perform
Angela D’Auria Stanton, Ph.D.
A Little History
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First Internet advertisement sold in 1994
– Hotwire.com sold the ad for $30,000/year to AT&T –
the annual cost to run its web site
– Early advertisers included: AT&T, Sprint, MCI, Volvo,
Club Med and Zima
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In the early days, clickthrough rates were 25%
Today Internet advertising is a $21+ billion
dollar business (as of end of 2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSwWyNFjdXI
Internet Advertising
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It is one component of advertising
It must be integrated with other advertising
media to provide a coordinated campaign
Traditional advertising is the foundation for
the development of Internet advertising
models
Reasons to Use
Interactive Advertising*
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Generate and increase awareness
Generate trial
Provide information
Increase usage
Up-sell to premium product or service
Cross-sell other brands from company
Improve customer’s attitudes/image
Increase repeat purchase
Encourage loyalty/increase customer involvement – customer retention
Develop database of customers/prospects
Reduce excess/obsolete inventory
Test different copy concepts, pricing models, promotions, product/service
offerings
Reach target audience missed by other media
Drive traffic to web site or retail location
* Source: http://www.iab.net/resources/pdf/reasons_to_use.pdf
U.S. Advertising Market-Media
Comparisons – 2007 ($ Billions)
48.6
Newspapers
31.2
TV Distribution
21.2
Internet
TV Networks: Cable
20.9
Radio
19.8
19.2
TV Networks: Broadcast
13.8
Computer Magazines
11.1
Trade Magazines
7.5
Outdoor
0
10
20
30
40
50
Online Advertising is Still a Very
Small Part of all Advertising
Internet Advertising
Revenues by Ad Format
Nielsen NetRatings
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U.S. Internet Advertising Metrics
– Leading Industry Advertisers
– Top Site Genres
– Largest Creative Portfolio
– Leading CPG Advertisers
Types of Online Advertising
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Traditional Banner Advertising
– The dominant online advertising method
– A rectangular box, usually horizontal on
the page, that contains advertising
material
– Banners often rotate, although there are
sponsorships that constitute “permanent
banners”
– They are not large in size so info is
limited
Traditional Banner Example
According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (www.iab.net), the standard banner
size is 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels high. This takes up approximately 10% of a
normal sized web page. There is enough room for text, graphics or animation.
Other Common Forms
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Buttons – typically 120 x 90 or 120 x 60
Other Common Forms
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Mini/Micro Buttons – 88 x 31
The most underrated of banner ads. Used
properly, they are every bit as effective as full
banners in delivering the message.
Other Common Forms
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Rectangle – 336 x 280 or 180 x 150
Other Common Forms
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Skyscraper – 120 x 600
Most Popular Ad Sizes
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http://www.adrelevance.com/intelligence/int
el_dataglance.jsp?flash=true&sr=89654
http://www.iab.net/standards/adunits.asp
Something fun:
http://www.bannerreport.com/html/gallery.p
hp
Rich Media
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Catch-all term for online
advertising technologically
enhanced by motion, sound or
some sort of interactive element.
– Allows online ads to approach
television in dynamic terms –
designed to catch the eye,
distract or intrude
– They can float above content,
animate, integrate video, a
jingle, and include interactive
elements like pull-downs for
more information or content
tailored to a user profile
– Has become the de facto
standard
The First Rich Media Ad
Hewlett Packard, 1996
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In the early days, rich media ads required special
programming skills and their formats lacked common industry
standards.
– Larger file sizes also created problems in the age of slow dial-up
connections.
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Today Macromedia’s Flash platform underpins almost all rich
media ads today.
Rich Media Formats
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Pop-ups/Pop-unders
In-page: standard IAB ad unit shapes that may include
advanced rich media functionality such as embedded games,
animation, video, registration forms, or other forms of
interactivity
Expandable: similar to in-page but they expand in size when
moused over or clicked
Floating: ads that appear as a layer on top of the user’s
current page that move across the page and resolve into an
in-page ad on the same page (or sometimes a smaller floating
reminder ad which continues to float above the page)
Transitionals: “between-page ads” or “interstitials” appear
between one page and another as a user clicks through a site
Rich Media Guidelines
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http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_
industry_services/1421/1443/1467
Pop-Ups
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Ad that appears in a
separate window on
top of content
already on-screen
– Designed to get
your attention for
a few moments
– Can be effective
for branding
although some
people find them
irritating
Pop-Under (Behind)
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Ad that appears in a separate
window beneath an open
window
– concealed until the top
window is closed, moved,
resized or minimized.
– Can be irritating but often
have high recall
When this page loads
This ad pops under, unnoticed
Pop-Up Guidelines
Source: http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/1421/1443/1461
Expandable Ads
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Pointroll:
– http://www.pointroll.com/showcase.html
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Eyeblaster Expandables:
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DoubleClick:
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/CreativeShowcase/feb_05/redlobster/redlobster.htm
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/demos/eyeblaster_demofiles/Panasonic/panasonic.ht
m
http://www.doubleclick.com/insight/gallery/examples/old-spice-with-originalvideo.asp
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EyeWonder Expandable Ad
http://cdn.eyewonder.com/100125/adWdrDemos/103356/103356_93075_1279_D
emo_web.html
In-Page
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Pointroll Tom Boy
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DoubleClick
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EyeWonder
http://www.pointroll.com/AdGallery/travelocity_subgnomeOnLorem/l
orem.asp
http://www.doubleclick.com/insight/gallery/inpage/index.asp
http://cdn.eyewonder.com/100125/adWdrDemos/103354/103354_88948_1244_Demo_w
eb.html
http://cdn.eyewonder.com/100125/adWdrDemos/103342/103342_88948_2156_Demo_w
eb.html
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/Demos/videoclip/levis/start.html
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/Demos/VideoStrip/VideoStrip.htm
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/Europe/OfflineDemo/colgate/start.htm
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/demos/eyeblaster_demofiles/sprite_remix/launch.htm
Floating Ads
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Pointroll Bad Boy
http://www.pointroll.com/AdGallery/friskiescatdreamerOnLorem/lorem.asp
http://www.pointroll.com/AdGallery/usnavyenlistmentOnLorem/lorem.asp
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Eyeblaster
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Floating Ads
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Full Page Overlay – ad appears layered over web page
–
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http://demo.eyeblaster.com/demos/eyeblaster_demofiles/shakira_166761/launch.htm
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/demos/eyeblaster_demofiles/WallaceGromit_UK/start.htm
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/Demos/nike_free_DK/launch.htm
http://www.eyeblaster.com/website/new_archive/2003/september_03/Hulk_FullPage_on_Blackplanet/Hulk_Launch.htm
Wallpaper - takes the place of a Web page's background and plays for a set duration
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/demos/eyeblaster_demofiles/Bounty_wallpaper/Bounty_Launch.htm
http://demo.eyeblaster.com/demos/eyeblaster_demofiles/iMedia_Brand_Summit/imedia_Launch.htm
DoubleClick
http://www.doubleclick.com/insight/gallery/floating/index.asp
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EyeWonder
http://cdn.eyewonder.com/100125/adWdrDemos/122413/122413_97027_3497_Demo_web.html
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United Virtualities Shoskeles
http://www.unitedvirtualities.com/demo/wireless2/
http://www.unitedvirtualities.com/demo/rhinocort5/
http://www.unitedvirtualities.com/demo/holland/
http://demos.unitedvirtualities.com/shoshtv_hd5/
http://www.unitedvirtualities.com/shoshkeles.htm
Interstitial
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Ads that appear while a publisher’s content is loading. Also
known as transition ads, intermercial ads, splash pages and
Flash pages.
– An interstitial is usually designed to move automatically to the
page the user requested after allowing enough time for the
message to register or the ad(s) to be read.
– All interstitials have in common the use of unused space and
time online, where an ad is shown while the user is waiting for
the next expected action.
– Trademarked as Superstitial by Unicast
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Examples
– http://www.eyeblaster.com/website/new_archive/2003/september_03/Ala
skaAirlines_NYTimes/AlaskaAirlines_Launch.htm
Interstitials
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Advantages
– The ad creative uses "dead time" to show an ad message, at a time
when the site visitor is on hold and attentive to the message that
appears.
– Their ability to incorporate sound and video. Many sites that accept
interstitial ads can take them in a form reminiscent of TV ads.
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Disadvantages
– Users often don't understand that the interstitial they see on their screen
while they're waiting for a page to load is using "dead time"; instead,
there's a tendency to think the interstitial is slowing the arrival of the
page they've requested. And this translates to annoyed users -- users,
moreover, who might "blame" the product or service advertised for their
annoyance!
– While they can attract a lot of attention, this does not always generate a
large number of clicks. It's that "branding" vs. "direct response" issue
again. If an ad's effectiveness is going to be evaluated on the basis on
click-throughs, interstitials may not be the best vehicle to sell an
advertiser.
Test Extensively
For these banner ads,
which background
color led to the
highest click-through
rate?
Test Extensively
1.
0.075%
2.
0.069%
3.
0.067%
4.
0.058%
5.
0.051%
Ask for Immediate Action
• It is more than just saying, “Click Here.” Instead
provide a specific “Call To Action”
• “Free Shipping if You Order Today”
• “Click to Apply”
• The word “free” works well, but you don’t always
get qualified customers
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If you convince visitors to click on your ad… Where
do they end up?
A good, functional Landing Page is a must!
Completes the selling process
Converts browser to buyer
Goal of Landing Page: Achieve your Most
Wanted Response (MWR).
Principles of Good Landing Pages
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Request necessary information only!
– Not the time for a customer survey
– The shorter the form, the better
 Make sure the form is on the first page
Give an incentive and restrict time horizon
– Example: “Free shipping, if you order today”
Make the next step clear
– When arriving on landing page, what must the person do?
– Keep focused on the MWR!
Track ad effectiveness to determine what percentage of clickthroughs result in your MWR.
Clicking on this
banner ad…
…leads to this page
Question 1: Is this
a good example of
a landing page? Why
or why not?
Clicking this ad…
…takes you here
Question 2: Is this
a good example of
a landing page? Why or
why not?
Clicking this ad…
…takes you here
Question 3: Is this
a good example of
a landing page? Why or
why not?
Clicking here…
…takes you here
Question 4: Is this
a good example
of a landing page? Why or
why not?
Clicking here…
…first launches this
superterstitial…
…then takes you here
Question 5: Are these
effective landing
pages? Why or why not?
Clicking this ad…
…takes you here
Question 6: Is this
a good example
of a landing page? Why or
why not?
Clicking this ad…
…brings
you here
Question 7: Is this
a good example of
a landing page? Why
or why not?
Clicking here…
…brings you here, where you
must click here…
…to bring you to this page,
where you must scroll down
to the bottom of the page so
you can click here…
…so you can finally arrive here.
You must click, search, click,
search, scroll, search, and click
before you arrive (presumably)
to the MWR page (where you
must click again to register!)
Question 8: Good landing page?
Why or why not?
Petco Example
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http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/08/
17/screencast-conversion-boostingbasics-for-petcocom/