The term ‘display advertising’ has many definitions, which makes it difficult – and perhaps even unnecessary – to define it precisely. Wikipedia gives us the following definition of display advertising: 'advertising on websites or apps or social media through banners or other ad formats made of text, images, flash, video and audio.' The difference, however, often lies in which types and formats are regarded as fitting in (or not fitting in) with the definition. For example, many marketing specialists regard videos as display advertising, but at Geomares we consider them to be content marketing because of the huge amount of content-related possibilities that videos offer. Therefore, we choose to use the term Premium Display Advertising in our propositions, and then break the options down into print formats and digital formats. On this page, we will dive deeper into the digital display advertising formats, i.e. banners.
Why use digital banners?
With the rise of ad blockers and the general trend around banners, it can sometimes seems as if banners are no longer an effective form of advertising. However, the opposite is true provided that you have appropriate and realistic expectations and goals. We will discuss a few common ones:
More awareness
Banners are extremely suitable for increasing the awareness of your brand or products. A high level of exposure is needed to raise your profile, and that is exactly where display banners can help you.
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These banners are aimed at raising the awereness of new products
More sales
Banners can certainly help to generate more sales, but the results are often difficult to track and measure, especially within B2B where a purchase decision can take considerable time and involve multiple people. In addition, it is very important that the banner message is relevant for your target group.
These Adobe banners have a strong focus on direct sales
More leads
Lead generation through banners is a popular goal, and leads are also easier to measure than sales. In B2B, the end user is often not the one to make the final purchase decision, but you should not underestimate their part in the process. Banners with free trial periods, like Adobe giving away ten free stock images, will probably achieve more success among end users than purely sales-focused banners. Trial periods enable users to try out the product, often without having to ask for their manager’s permission. If they are satisfied with the product, they will probably submit a purchase request to their manager at the end of the trial period. Then it is up to you to nurture your leads and convert them into customers.
Staying top of mind
Many services and products are only purchased once in a while, and when that time comes you want your brand to be top of mind! Digital banners can help you to stay in the picture among your target group, but make sure that you keep varying the message and design to avoid ‘banner blindness’.
How can you create an effective banner?
Over the years, internet users have become increasingly better at scanning a page, and they determine in no time whether or not they find the displayed content interesting enough to read on. The average attention span of internet users has even dropped to 8 seconds, compared to 12 seconds in 2000. And yes, this trend is impacting on display banners too. By their very nature they get the least attention from users, so it is becoming increasingly important to create very high-quality banners to achieve maximum engagement with your target audience.
In this article we’ll discuss 10 tips to help you create effective digital banners. In brief they are:
1. Treat your banners as a billboard; you only have a split second to attract attention
2. Be consistent, but keep varying
3. Use the KISS methode: Keep It Simple, Stupid!
4. Give people a reason to click
5. Build your banner logically by using hierarchy
6. Use images to clarify your message, but in moderation
7. Use animation
8. Choose the right format
9. Make a solid landing page
10. Continue to test and optimise
Various formats
The digital market has already produced many banner formats. Tip 8 above advises you to choose the right format for your digital banner, and it is important to select a format which enables you to get your message across clearly. You only have a split second to grab the attention of your audience, so make sure you use it well!
At Geomares, we offer the following formats:
Website
Leaderboard: 728 x 90 px
Medium rectangle: 300 x 250 px
Full banner: 428 x 60 px
Newsletter
Full banner: 428 x 60 px
Box banner: 120 x 90 px
Top/mid banner: 648 x 80 px
Skyscraper: 120 x 600 px
Are you keen to know more, or do you need help with creating banners? Contact our marketing advisors or have a look at the artwork & creative design services from our subsidiary Factrics.