iMedia Connection Blog

Online display ads are the red-headed freckled kid of advertising; present but not quite understood even though last year 4.5 trillion ads were served and each of us was exposed to nearly a hundred ads per person each business day. 

Marketers spent an estimated 5.9 billion in 2008 to spray and pray banners, skyscrapers, advergames, "ghost" ads and moving or animated images (the top five ad formats) across the Internet. Some hoped to provoke clicks and convert those clickers into sales. Yet many just hoped to expose passing web surfers to a brand image or impression in the hope of raising or extending brand awareness or priming the pump for later consideration or sales.
And while the metrics of direct response advertising is generally known there is still no real consensus around and the value and utility of display advertising other than the logical belief that what worked for a century in traditional media ought to work in digital media. And while the argument is logical, many of us still have the "banners suck" mantra at the forefront of our consciousness.
Online images, sound, moving pictures and uber creativity ought to capture attention and motivate consumers at least as well – if not... Read more