1.       Deliver content to the viewer through the Ad without them needing to leave the publisher’s site. Publishers are shifting their focus into providing engaging content to keep the viewer on the page for longer rather than generate as many impressions as possible. People are far less likely to click on an ad banner when they are immersed in the content of a site, than when they are merely browsing through a site to pass the time. Therefore the ability rich media provides to interact with the ad without leaving the page is crucial.

2.       Adopt more interactive functionality with video – don’t just run a passive TVC. Online is a sit forward, interactive medium and the best advertising takes advantage of this. Running your TVC is an easy way to get started however by being innovative and interactive, video ads can take advantage of the unique benefits of the online environment, and not simply replicate a passive experience similar to the one audiences have with television.

3.       Don’t trust click-thru as the sole means of justifying campaign success. And even when they do click is that really the consumer or action you’re looking for? Most display ad clicks come from a very small group of consumers, according to “Natural Born Clickers,” a report by Starcom USA, Tacoda and comScore. The heavy clickers surveyed represented just 6% of the online population, but made one-half of all display ad clicks.

4.       So it’s important to find alternative metrics to measure campaign success. For example on a macro level examine brand impact or on a campaign-level the interaction rates generated by the exposures. Historically online creative has been focused on a direct-response pull strategy – trying to drive traffic through to a site. That strategy meant success could only be measured one way: by counting clicks.  But as it turns out, consumers are too savvy and the Web is far too interactive to gauge success solely by clicks.  To do so is to ignore the Web’s true promise of providing true interactivity and complex brand engagement.

5.       Be prepared to justify a campaign with 0% click rate!

Ross McNab | Sales Director APAC

Recently released in the APAC market Eyeblaster TV is a high impact advertising format that appears over the page.  Eyeblaster TV contains video that displays automatically for up to 30 seconds with audio on or off and scrolls with the page.  Here’s five reasons why I think Eyeblaster TV will be a success for both advertisers and publishers ..

1. It works for advertisers because it provides a simple solution to TV advertisers in the face of constantly declining TV reach. Eyeblaster TV uses their existing TVC and extends reach online. The high investment involved in TVC production can be amortised across the digital channel.

2. It works for publishers because it gives them new inventory to sell which equals a new revenue stream. Eyeblaster TV does not use existing ad space allowing publishers to monetise their pages more effectively.

3. Eyeblaster TV is measured in traditional media terms – reach and frequency. Death to the click!

4. Opens up opportunities with prized verticals, as Pippa Leary, Managing Director of Fairfax Digital – Media, notes … “Encouraged by technology innovations like FDTV and the growing consumption rates of online video in Australia, we are seeing more categories, including FMCG, move their brand advertising online. Marketers are harnessing the incremental reach garnered through a predominantly light commercial TV viewing audience on our network.

5. You can run customised skins to enhance the brand impact, my favourite example of this:

Pioneer – Custom Skin

Ross McNab | Sales Director APAC