Wednesday, December 16, 2009

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.

1 comment:

Greg Wallace said...

great blog. Have you checked out GET Interactive? We fit in the rich media category but offer a fresh approach. Love to get your thoughts.

Here's a sample of one of our galleries launched from the 720x90 at the top of this page:

http://www.getinteractive.tv/demos/pricegrabber/yahoo728x90.htm

lmk if you'd like more info (our web site is under construction, will be up soon)

Greg