I made this after posting this on Twitter.
Early yesterday morning, on my weekly train ride up to Milwaukee, I was thinking about the state of online advertising, missed forecasts at Yahoo!, and what could be done about it.
In particular, the “industry average” click-through-rate on standard display advertising gets me pretty fired up. Combine that with banner blindness and I feel like, as an industry, there’s more that we can do.
We can do better at gaining awareness. For example, see the banners by MINI from last year, where the back end of the new, larger MINI breaks through onto the page. It’s funny and it fits with the personality of MINI, but it doesn’t irritate (at least, it doesn’t irritate me).
We can do better at using the space creatively. Look at Apple, who have done a phenomenal job extending their TV campaign onto the web, without making it feel like the creative team was upset to have to shoe-horn their work into 160×600, 728×90 and 300×250.
And we can do better at giving people things that are targeted toward their needs. I recently read in the FEED report that, among people that frequently use social networking tools online, contextually targeted ads are seen as acceptable, and in some cases even a happy sidebar to their desired content. Users seem to know and accept that this stuff is powered by advertising, but they don’t want it to get in the way.
People have spoken more eloquently about this than I can here (ya know, guys like Noah Brier and Jakob Nielsen). But I do feel like I captured my industry-wide frustration with banner ads with the graphic above. Birth control is effective 99% of the time, when used effectively correctly, at preventing pregnancy. And “standard” display ads average about a 1% click-through rate, if you’re feeling particularly generous about rounding.
Now, before you start trying to shoot holes in this argument, understand that I know that not all banners are designed to get someone to click. And certainly, if the ROI on a click is high enough, then a 1% click-through rate might make sense.
I just think we can do better. Don’t you think?
EDIT: Per my buddy Don’s recommendation, I changed “effectively” to “correctly”. Duh.
Comments
Well put – we should always strive for improvements, for the sake of the client as well as to pad our own resumes. I think some of the waning worth of standard banners is reflected in their cost structure – extremely low CPMs, extremely high efficiency, but for what? By improving the content, interactivity, and expanding upon the objectives of our banner campaigns, we can significantly enrich the brand experience, add value, and avoid the birth control effect illustrated here – as reflected in upcharges for richer media online.
Good discussion, yo.
I think the graphic is great. I find it funny, and it’s also strongly backed by the available data. If nothing else, this clearly does a lot to get people talking about the topic of banners. Kudos.
An interesting example, which makes for an interesting discussion. It’s just more proof that, as marketers, we need to continue to strive for more innovative and effective ways to reach potential customers. When we do rely on standard banners (or media in general), we must creatively execute and target in a way to stand out from the clutter that many have become blind to. IF you’re able to do that, the facts of the above diagram can be turned into an advantage for both you and your client.
Super odd coincidence – just got out of my first online reco meeting in new post here, where this exact discussion was duplicated. Definitely noted that entire plan consisted of takeovers, sponsorships, custom content, pre-roll, and the like. All banner activity was added value – labeled as “other” in summary of impressions. CTR as a secondary metric – the “oops” factor was not seen as an adequate measure of the user experience.
I miss planning online.
Preach on. Been thinking a lot about this lately actually and you captured most of it.
Jen – One of the sad things about struggling web/print publications is that I think we, as an industry, have to accept some of the blame. We’re not doing enough with the space, and as a result, the cost-of-entry for those placements is deservedly low. We need to raise the bar.
Don – Definitely sparked conversation, didn’t it? Good times.
Brady – Indeed, brother. We have literally endless possibilities in this space, and it’s on us to figure out how to do it right. Unfortunately, users are typically treated to some distracting (read: “eye-catching”) movement and a shiny button. Let’s figure out a way to make banners cool, yeah?
Noah – Yeah. It’s a tough thing to think about, in a lot of ways. It makes agencies money, it does result in some clicks, and there are cool possibilities. But I know how I feel about them when I see them on a page, especially when they are bad, but even when they’re great. Conflicted.