Banner Ads & Billboards: You Only Have Seconds

Who, these days, has time to look at ads; other than the passing glance?

Actually, if you look around and take stock of all media vying for your attention, it's rather overwhelming, to say the least. Advertisements (ahem, marketing channels) appear just about everywhere, and on just about everything.

As I've noted in earlier columns, you can even get bombarded in restrooms and airport security tubs while on line. To make any impact, you've got to be bold, quick, and sometimes clever. Eyes only have moments to capture anything of interest, and if that passing glance doesn't spot an image or text that related in some way to a pain-point in the customer's mind, or create (and satisfy) a need, then the ad didn't carry any ROI.

That's why I'm so baffled by creative that doesn't take these points into consideration. Many examples show a total lack of understanding about the medium. Take a web page with banners, tiles, or other intrusive marketing. First off, you've come to a page that just happens to contain advertising; but more likely you were looking for something else and had/have no interest in looking at other areas of the page. Of course, we're human, and if we see a color, graphic icon or image out of the corner of our eye that momentarily diverts our attention from our task-at-hand, we'll take a peek.

But the glance, versus the look can be a big differentiator. I see so much creative that approaches the banner ad, or even outdoor billboard as if it were a print ad or brochure; requiring direct attention, as well as time, to read it, digest it and understand the message.

Take a look at this billboard as if you are driving by it in your car:


Now, tell me:

• What is it selling?
  
• What's the unique selling point?
• Why do you need it?
• Where can you get more information?
• What is the name of the advertiser?

In reality, it is for a theology school (that is buried under the big "Iliff" in the layout. The headline didn't say anything that was direct, or compelling which would attract me. In fact, the headline uses one of my pet peeves: all uppercase. While that is a subject for another column, uppercase can often be very difficult to read in quick-read situations. There is a full science behind the curvo-linear differentiation between all uppercase, and upper-and-lower. To make things worse, the URL for the school has nothing to do with the subject, nor the school name: degreeforchange ! (And, it's all in lowercase, with no differentiation between the words.

Now, look at the billboard within it's surroundings:


Tell me that you even LOOKED at the billboard, much less got anything from it. Maybe this works for a print ad (I doubt it) but it certainly does not work on an outdoor billboard where you're whizzing-by in a car. The same idea applies to a banner ad; drive-by advertising that gets driven-by.



Now, tell me:

• What is it selling?
  
• What's the unique selling point?
• Why do you need it?
• Where can you get more information?
• What is the name of the advertiser?

Of course, the URL is not present in this particular board, but it doesn't need to. I'm assuming (rightly so) that geico.com will do the trick. But notice the bold color, large headline (yes, in uppercase, but here it works), front-and-center company name, and the image. I can drive by this at 65MPH and still get it's message. And, if I saw this on a web page, or a bus bench, or a print ad, that's all I need to have an impression made.

Step-back and look at what you're doing in those marketing channels that have very, very short periods to capture a potential customer's attention. Don't recycle creative from other media outlets. Create something specifically for the medium, and remember that nobody is looking for you in the media landscape; it's up to you to stand-out and command attention!

Got other good / bad examples? Send'em to me and we'll discuss!

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© 2011 Bob Chernet - View all of Bob's articles at: Bob Chernet's Marketing Best Practices . Reproduction of Bob Chernet's Marketing Insights in any manner is unlawful, without the written permission of the author.