Let's face facts people, the banner ad has become the red-headed stepchild of online media. They are a necessary evil, since the majority of media available outside of text based search ads are banners, so they make the media plan. But marketers have struggled with it's effectiveness in recent years, and as a result, if a consumer doesn't click on the first or second view, the banner is often considered to be a failure.

With the onset of ad networks after the dot-com crash, impressions have become ridiculously cheap and many marketers are buying banners on CPC or CPA pricing only to assure "performance". I know this because I was once employing this strategy for a previous company as the head of online marketing. I admit that it's tempting to go down this road, which incidentally completely discounts the impression altogether, because it is effective, inexpensive and ultimately helps you meet your metrics and impress your boss. However, the banner has long needed something to bring it back from the doldrums of CPA ad networks and back into the marketing conversation.

This is a decent start: iMedia published a study executed by The Online Publishers Association and ComScore (http://tinyurl.com/ycx9eza). The study reviewed data from 80 banner ad campaigns done by 50 top brands on over 200 top publishers. The findings may not be revolutionary, but certainly help to restore credence to banner ad impressions. Here are some of the key findings:

1. The 80-20 rule applies to clicks. Eighty percent of theclicks come from 20 percent of the people exposed to the ads. At very best only1 in 5 ads draws a click whether that was the intention of the ad or not.

2. Display Ads Prompt Search. Queries for terms exposed indisplay ads were search 50% more often a week after exposure and 38% more ofteneven 4 weeks after exposure. If you see something that intersects yourinterests or your personal wish list, you are more likely to search for itdirectly when you’re ready to buy. Direct and brand advertising interactsynergistically online and offline.  

3. Display Ads Drive Site Engagement. Those exposed to adsspent 34 minutes per unique visitor on the sites exposed. This is hard tobelieve in terms of the time spent on site and the amount of “lift”. Maybe itjust measures the vagaries of site architecture and navigation.

4. Brand Exposure Bumps Up eCommerce. Those exposed to brandads spent 7% more on average when they bought. This feels like advertisingorthodoxy; exposure drives awareness, consideration and purchase. It’s possiblethat added impressions convinces customers to trade up a little.

There are many new tools a marketer can employ to maximize the overall effectiveness of banner ad impressions: behavioral targeting, frequency capping, day parting, demographic and social likeness targeting and others. If you are putting an online strategy together contact Vigor Consulting if you would like strategic advice.

Reference this study on iMedia: tinyurl.com/ycx9eza

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