Over the last decade, the use of interactive advertising has fallen due to an effect dubbed ‘banner blindness’, where consumers ignore pretty much anything on a website that appears to be an advert. The double click compilation of ad response (www.doubleclick.com) shows that today the average CTR is between 0.2%-0.3%.

This has made marketers reluctant to make use of interactive advertising- however, as time has passed, many new and innovative approaches to advertising which are proved to increase brand awareness and purchase intent, have emerged. I hope the following enlightens you all on the purposes of intera

ctive advertising, and highlights some of the newer techniques marketers are using to entice you.

 Fundamentals of online advertising:

Essentially, online advertising is brought about when an advertiser pays to place advertising content on a website of their choice- this process usually involves AD serving from a different server on which the page is hosted. The main aim of this is to drive traffic to a destination website.

Cartellieri et al (1997) identifies the following objectives of interactive advertising:

1. Delivering content: a typical case would be a clickthrough on a banner advertisement which leads through to a destination website, which then gives more detailed information on said product or offers advertised- a direct response is sought.
2. Enabling transaction: if a clickthrough leads directly through to a merchant,  such as travel site or online bookstore, this may lead directly to a sale.
3. Shaping attitudes: In short, an advertisement that is consistent with its repetitive brand can help build brand awareness.
4. Soliciting response: AD maybe intended to identify new leads or as a start of two-way communication case- advertisement may encourage a user to type in an email address or any other information.
5. Encouraging retention: The Ad may be placed as a reminder about the company or your recent web browsing history, and it may link through to on-site sales promotion e.g. a prize draw.

New and innovative techniques to Interactive Advertising:

• Social media- advertising through outlets such as social networking websites, blog posts and online communities. Advertising through social media outlets provides a direct marketing approach because it targets an audience based on its interests.

On Facebook, for example, your latest search history and websites visited are tracked by retailers, who use this information for a more “bespoke”, tailored advertising experience.

 

• Videos: this form of advertising may appear automatically when a consumer visits a particular website, or consumers can choose an interactive advertisement that suits them best (e.g. on platforms like 4oD). This essentially helps the company build brand recognition and can advertise new products. Especially websites such as youtube, where you are unable to skip the advertisement, even if ad blocking extensions are used, you have to disable these before continuing to watch any video.

Further to this, here are some of the Interactive advert examples YouTube now uses:

• Pop-ups: Perhaps as old as the internet itself, the in-your-face advertising approach has been figurehead by Pop-up advertisements; new browser windows that appear on the screen with advert-rich content- businesses utilise this to sell products, services and to make announcements.
• Display ads: these are usually very visually stimulating and grab the attention of the website visitor. They can appear anywhere on a web page and vary in size, content and shape. Effective displays entice consumers to click on the ad to obtain additional information about the product or service advertised.

Some Interactive advertisement examples from smaller businesses:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-interactive-advertising-10996.html

How companies can make interactive adverts successful:

• Promotions help the advertising organisation to procure clients inorganically at a much faster rate.
• Some approaches to ensure paid advertising work:
  – Updating their banner ads and interactivity as often as possible and make sure they stand out from the competition.
• Have mobile and tablet compatible adverts
• Experiment with the position of the advert and check whether CTR rates improve from their redesign and repositioning.
• Redesigning the landing page of the advertisement
• Make interactive advertisements personal- e.g. on 4oD:  “Hey Marie, please choose the advert you would prefer to watch”

Example of tailored advertisement http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/channel-4-launch-four-new-innovative-video-ad-formats-for-advertisers

So how do these companies measure the success of their Interactive Adverts?

Advertisers have to quickly assess the value of their advert and whether it is engaging to the potential consumer. Regardless of the campaigns performance goal- advertisers have individually measure down the funnel and check the number of impressions the advert is getting, first pageviews, first interactions and click-through. (All performed via analytical tools e.g. Google analytics).

Dependent on your frequent search criteria, as well as interactivity within the advert- companies can use this to create a digital database that will relate solely to your interests. Therefore increasing the efficiency of the interactive advertising.

 

Here’s to the future!

Check out my twitter- @digital_marie

Here are some humorous twitter posts on peoples opinions of Interactive advertising-enjoy!

 

References

A Complete Digital Marketing Audit Guide. (2017). [Blog] Digital Vidya. Available at: http://www.digitalvidya.com/blog/digital-marketing-audit/ [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].

Aarki.com. (2017). Interactive Advertising Analytics Best Practices. [online] Available at: https://www.aarki.com/blog/2014/08/interactive-advertising-analytics-best-practices [Accessed 30 Nov. 2017].

Chaffey, D. (2007). E-business and e-commerce management. Harlow: Pearson Education/Prentice Hall, pp.418-419.

Designswan.com. (2017). 20 Creative and Smart McDonald’s Advertisement Designs over World – Design Swan. [online] Available at: https://www.designswan.com/archives/20-creative-and-smart-mcdonalds-advertisement-designs-over-world.html [Accessed 30 Nov. 2017].

Smallbusiness.chron.com. (2017). Examples of Interactive Advertising. [online] Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-interactive-advertising-10996.html [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].

Stanley, M. (2017). “Humans Are Part Of An Aliens Computer Game” States NASA Scientist. [online] UFO International Project. Available at: http://www.ufointernationalproject.com/ufo-photos-and-videos/humans-are-part-of-an-aliens-computer-game-states-nasa-scientist/ [Accessed 29 Nov. 2017].

YouTube. (2017). Top 4 Interactive Print Ads | Immersive Print Campaigns. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjmli6mghJI&app=desktop [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].