If digital advertising is the golden child of modern marketing, it is currently going through that terrible, unruly teenage phase.
The industry’s love affair with digital is not going away – according to Magna Global “ad revenue from digital media grew 17% to $142 billion this year…and it’s on track to surpass TV revenue in the U.S. by 2017”.
At the same time, the online media environment has become one of the most difficult environments for advertising to succeed. Google recently released a report finding that 56% of digital ads are never seen. And being ‘seen’ means that at least 50% of the ad was visible on-screen for at least a second. Yes, one second. The Interactive Advertising Bureau says that 100% viewability of digital ads is ‘not yet possible,’ so we shouldn’t expect this to get better any time soon.
Once an ad is ‘viewable,’ it faces even bigger hurdles of earning the attention of the website visitor. Keep in mind, the website visitor is likely on the site for a very specific reason, and any ads on screen are simply an unwanted distraction from achieving their objective.
When you add the clutter of other ‘distractions’ online, the ability of an ad to be both viewable and noticed seems like a nearly impossible feat. This is where the power of creative, and the importance of a high quality media buy, comes in.
Media buys which prioritize high quality and relevant viewing environments over a sheer number of impressions can boost the chances of success for an ad. But media is less than half of the story – breakthrough creative is the real key to being noticed.
When it comes to producing the creative, many marketers are tempted to play with all the fun toys available with digital advertising. But in fact, using complex animation, telling a story, or building in consumer-involvement games only amplifies the distractions.
Considering the highly cluttered environment, distracted audience, and minimal ‘viewable’ time on-screen, the ads that get noticed tend to be those that are simple, even ‘billboard-like’ – so no matter when it happens to catch the viewer’s eye, they immediately get it (both the brand and the message, if any).
For more tips on optimizing your investment in digital advertising, see our White Paper.
