Online Ad Formats In 2002

As online publishers continue to work to bring impactful online advertising solutions to marketers, 2002 has seen its fair share of newly approved ad formats and rich media advancements. Besides larger ad sizes, which are becoming more common, some companies are displaying true innovation in an effort to resurrect the online advertising industry.

As we know, one of the major hurdles preventing online publishers from securing profitable, long-term ad buys from mass market advertisers is their inability to equate online advertising metrics with more traditional metrics. In an attempt to address this problem The New York Times has introduced the “Surround Session” ad. Surround Session ads replace standard online measurements of “impressions” and “clicks” with one more readily understood by mainstream advertisers: TIME.

The surround session format is proving popular among more traditional advertisers because it sells an advertiser an audience, not an impression. While the creative used during the Surround Session is nothing new (banners, buttons, skyscrapers), the Surround Session format lets advertisers target an individual during their entire visit to the site, allowing for “saturation” levels over 5-7 pages per user visit.

By literally “surrounding” the viewer with the advertiser’s message, the NYT enables the advertiser to tell a story or reinforce the brand with a series of related ads. Structuring the sale in this manner brings it firmly into line with how TV is sold (on a cost-per-thousand HOUSEHOLD, not cost-per-thousand impressions). To date, advertisers such as Nexium, Porsche and E*Trade have tried Surround Session ads. The Nexium campaign produced a 45% increase in message association, compared to typical online campaigns for pharmaceutical companies, which produce a 16% increase. Nexium’s brand awareness rose 20% versus 1% for a typical online pharmaceutical campaign.

Another way in which the New York Times is leading the field is via targeting. Most publishers are able to target ads to a certain degree. However, in another effort to bring online metrics into alignment with traditional metrics, the NYT is pushing time-of-day advertising. Dubbed “Dayparts,” the program enables the NYT to give an advertiser exclusivity during certain times of the day — for example, American Airlines has signed on to be advertised only between 9:00 and 10:00 AM EST. Unlike a standard impression buy where inventory is distributed over a 24-hour period, the NYT hopes that targeting via time of day will appeal to those advertisers who buy media in similar blocks for TV. It also enables the NYT to charge a premium for the service.

Rich Media

Rich media continues to make inroads in the online advertising arena as marketers realize the benefits. Rich media enables advertisers to enhance brand interaction and results in exponentially higher click-thrus.

One rich media ad popping up on sites with increasing regularity is dubbed the “Voken.” Created by eyeReturn, the Voken (short for “virtual token”) offers an attention grabbing experience beyond a rich media ad confined to a banner or skyscraper. The Voken relies upon movement across the entire screen, demanding the attention of the reader. For example, Foot Locker used a Voken ad to showcase their shoes racing across the page. eyeReturn states that the fact that their ads move around the page helps attract attention and increases the chance the viewer will interact with the ad.

Another of the companies pushing the rich media envelope is SpeedView. SpeedView broadcasts full-screen ads in a TV-like manner between the pages of a site. The rich media broadcast includes graphics, sound and video and downloads in seconds. Like all successful rich media applications, no plug-ins are necessary.

As we move through 2002, look for technology companies, advertisers and publishers to continue to push the envelope using rich media.

Related Links:

SpeedView

eyeReturn

WebAdvantage.net archived articles:

Advertisers (Finally) Turn To Online TV Commercials

Revisiting the Banner

Micro Advertising

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