Please do not overuse rich media – it might not perform

Lately, there has been a lot of innovation in the rich media industry. It started with expandable banners, moved to dancing, jumping banners, then we got peel overs and now it seems like we have microsites built into the banners. Building microsites within the banners is an innovative concept to capture the user's attention in the banner, however, is that too much information in the banner?

Some of the banners have next buttons within them which move from one frame to the other, it is critical to evaluate the number of frames within the banner which is still keep the user engaged.

If the rich media technology is overused with the intention to capture user's attention, it should be tested within a focus group (usability testing) to understand the user's likes and dislikes.

It is the job of creative agency to ensure the banner load times and user likability to help achieve the purpose of advertising.

Ever heard of <1 Pageview?

Yes, you read it correctly, have you ever heard of <1 pageview? Mr. Google Analytics reports that in their depth of visit report.

I really am looking for someone (Mr. Google Analytics) to provide me a definition of <1 pageview.

If someone knows about it, please let me know.

Power of Contextual Advertising

We all have heard about Vibrant, Kontera contextual ads. The ads that are based on the text in an article, the keywords are double underlined and once rolled over, the ad pops up.

I have been analyzing and measuring a lot of media plans globally with contextual advertising and it seems to pay off a lot. I have seen differences in response rates (CTR) and post-click engagement of upto 200%. Prior to being able to get post-click engagement data, I always used to question the viability of the high number of clicks on these ads. But with the post-click data, I feel that these ads really work in capturing the audience.

It is very interesting that they work for almost all lines of business – B2C, B2B and continue to provide increased response.

One more thing that I have noticed recently is that placing ads on a homepage vs. a targeted page with relevant creative also helps a lot. For example: placing a creative which connects with the audience on the publisher's website also drives higher engagement.

Thus, it is very critical to use contextual advertising for higher response rates and improved ROI.