The Consumerist recently took online ad developers - and the brands that use their work - to task for their ever evolving ways to reach and engage with consumers. From brands' perspective, of course, new developments in this space are a necessity as consumers tend to tune out what becomes familiar - such as the case with banner ads.
Most Annoying
But these latest developments, according to the Consumerist, can be especially annoying: the video ads that auto-play when you navigate to a page, alerts everyone within earshot that you're not doing your job. The super-headers that initially bump down all the content on the homepage so that you can't tell what site you're on. New rollover ads require one to be surgeon-like with the mouse and ads that "just float above the page with the tantalizing "X" that is supposed to close the ad when clicked, but never seems to work."
The Consumerist's view of the technology is an amusing take on the issue. But it does have a point - something of which marketers are well aware. Ads that don't use technology to personalize the experience to the user - such as the 'credit score' with the ladies dancing ad - are much of the problem, MS&L's digital expert Lori Laurent Smith, tells MarketingVox. "I've been a Netflix subscriber from the beginning yet I manage to get their pop-under ad at least once a week."
The ones she likes involve the user within the context of the site they are visiting. "It blends advertising into the customer experience. There is a lot of experimentation happening with AR (augmented reality), like this AT&T banner ad/game running on espn.com during the world cup."
A Struggle
David Binkowski, EVP of Digital Marketing for Lippe Taylor, as well acknowledges that advertising online has struggled mightily in recent years. That is "because their solution to reaching consumers has had little to do with being relevant or creative but everything to do with annoying," he told MarketingVox. "Annoying gets attention, like it or not, but it doesn’t necessarily drive clicks. The classic "Punch the Monkey" ad never gets old - alas I’ve never actually punched said monkey so I’m not even sure which brand is behind it."
Another recent ad on ESPN, he said, was a full page takeover that involved shaking. "I found this to be extremely annoying as it detracted from the experience on the site."
What They Have In Common
Ads that work best have several things in common, Walter Guarino, a Professor of Advertising at Seton Hall University, says. "They are short in length (usually 10-20 seconds), they are relevant in some way to the type of audience visiting the site (so they don't come out of the blue) and they are not loud and jarring." The real problem, he tells MarketingVox, is that when someone does not expect to see a spot "forced" on them, it is hard to remove the initial negative thoughts.
"The jury's still out on how effective these commercials are, but there's no doubt that we have only begun to be barraged more in the future."
