Is any marketing safe? Not a day goes by that we don’t read stories of television ads losing viewers because of DVRs, mobile devices (tablets, smart phones, etc.), and people watching video online. There are stories of how no one reads print anymore, and that print ads are going away. The latest news is that click through rates on banner ads are at their lowest percentage ever. What’s an advertiser to do?
Change your paradigm.
Side note: I’ve always wanted to use Paradigm in a title, ever since I read my first Dilbert cartoon strip.
Banner ad click through rates are certainly at a low. People have a tendency to tune them out. Even if it is exactly what they need, with a flashing billboard of their name, saying, “You need this!!!” there’s a good chance they will miss it. As a society, we are trained to look away from these ads. You almost have to spring them on someone to get a response. The belief has always been that a banner ad is only useful if it encourages an immediate call to action. For example, if 1000 people see the ad, and 2 click, your .2% CTR shows how effective that ad was. The shift in vision is to consider these banner ads the same way that you would consider your television ad – as a branding platform. Banner ads that are used as branding tools do not need to say, “Click here”. In fact, a click to such an ad should only bring the customer to a brand awareness landing page. The call to action is not “BUY OUR PRODUCT NOW” or “USE OUR SERVICE NOW” but rather, “Remember us when you need us, because we’re the guys you want to do business with.” The use of banner ads can mirror your social media platforms. Rather than an immediate call to action, you are using your banner ads to create a brand loyalty based on respect. In fact, rather than pushing landing pages to sell product, you can begin to use banner ads to suggest your social media channels, where the future customer can see what you’re really all about, and make an informed decision. It is a way of showing your company as more than a peddler of goods, but as a company worth doing business with. This is a non-traditional use of banner ads, and we wouldn’t recommend this to be your only use of such a medium, but it is certainly a direction that is worth looking into. If click through rates are all you are concerned with, this isn’t the program for you. If you’re interested in expanding your advertising reach, and can imagine your banner ads as basically television commercials, then this is for you. No one has a click through rate on TV. (Of course, Old Navy, with their Shazam encoded commercials come close…) Are your ready to shift your vision?
Banner ad click through rates are certainly at a low. People have a tendency to tune them out. Even if it is exactly what they need, with a flashing billboard of their name, saying, “You need this!!!” there’s a good chance they will miss it. As a society, we are trained to look away from these ads. You almost have to spring them on someone to get a response. The belief has always been that a banner ad is only useful if it encourages an immediate call to action. For example, if 1000 people see the ad, and 2 click, your .2% CTR shows how effective that ad was. The shift in vision is to consider these banner ads the same way that you would consider your television ad – as a branding platform. Banner ads that are used as branding tools do not need to say, “Click here”. In fact, a click to such an ad should only bring the customer to a brand awareness landing page. The call to action is not “BUY OUR PRODUCT NOW” or “USE OUR SERVICE NOW” but rather, “Remember us when you need us, because we’re the guys you want to do business with.” The use of banner ads can mirror your social media platforms. Rather than an immediate call to action, you are using your banner ads to create a brand loyalty based on respect. In fact, rather than pushing landing pages to sell product, you can begin to use banner ads to suggest your social media channels, where the future customer can see what you’re really all about, and make an informed decision. It is a way of showing your company as more than a peddler of goods, but as a company worth doing business with. This is a non-traditional use of banner ads, and we wouldn’t recommend this to be your only use of such a medium, but it is certainly a direction that is worth looking into. If click through rates are all you are concerned with, this isn’t the program for you. If you’re interested in expanding your advertising reach, and can imagine your banner ads as basically television commercials, then this is for you. No one has a click through rate on TV. (Of course, Old Navy, with their Shazam encoded commercials come close…) Are your ready to shift your vision?
