From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
- Elements such as format greatly impact on the effectiveness of advertisements. (Joseph, 2004)
- The web is a 'pull' medium, not a 'push' or broadcast one, so it is natural that advertising should chase the benefits of the Web by only appearing to those who are looking to retrieve specific types of information off the internet. (Adams, 2003)
- Banners are central to this process, because when it is known what an individual user is looking for, the banner can raise awareness and act as a guide to alternative websites.
- In the early days click through rates on banner advertisements were much higher due to the novelty of the web. Today, banner ads make up roughly half of internet advertising sales, the vast majority of those being diminutive and familiar 468x60-pixel rectangles into which companies have long been obliged to cram their messages. (Joseph,2004)
- According to Richard Adams, the banner advertisement can act to raise awareness of an issue or product related to the content onscreen, and it can act as a signpost that can take the user directly to the relevant website. It is this evolution of usage that has kept the banner alive. (Adams,2003).
- In the modern day companies are buying new formats regardless of the costs, because they are experimenting to determine what the effectiveness will be. The bottom line is that a company has to know what they're doing, why they're doing it, and what they are willing to pay to do it.(Briggs, 2004)
- Banners have proven to be the most effective marketing tool, producing quantifiable units to which an advertiser can apply readable metrics and make real conclusions with real numbers about the effectiveness of their campaign.
- Millwood Brown Internationals study proves banner ads have significant and conclusive impact on brand awareness. Further findings also show that single exposure to a web banner generates greater awareness than a single exposure to a TV or print advertisement. (www.ciaadvertising.org) Unlike TV, radio, and billboard, one click can take the user straight into a commercial environment.
- Skyscrapers are 120 pixels wide, and are effectively a piece of button large enough to occupy a full first fold of the screen . In print terms, the skyscraper is equivalent to a full-collumn ad.(Adams, 2004) Studies show that skyscrapers are more effective than the traditional banner in terms of both branding and click-through rates. For example, teen network Snowball.com, announced an 18 to 36 percent improvement in click-through rates using skyscrapters.Joseph states that:
- While some of that impact is doubtless the novelty of the format, smart media buyers will take advantage of it before the shine wears off and returns start to diminish.
Back to Online Advertising - History
Reference List
- Adams, R.(2003) www.advertising, Broadway, NY.:The Illex Press Limited, ISBN 0823058611
- Joseph,P(2002),'Beyond the Banner',January 24,www.techupdate.zdnet.com (accessed 18 October 2004)
- Skye Salleras 04:17, 29 Oct 2004 (EST)
