21st
The real reason why large online ads don’t work
Ad age recently reported that large online ads aren’t as effective as their tiny 180-pixel-by-150-pixel counterparts. The accredit this fact to banner blindness, meaning that consumers block out the bordering ads from the content they are trying to focus on. They also point out that many of the smaller ads are embedded within the content. They also mention the obvious – these huge ads (especially those that block content) are really annoying.
Now, I completely agree that these are all valid points, but they only began to scrape the surface behind the psychology of the failure of massive banner ads. The real reason why smaller ads beat out the gigantic ads at the top of the page? Because consumers, especially those from younger generations, don’t want to be blatantly marketed to. While the web’s demographic increasingly gets older, the facts say that the majority of users fall within Gen X and Gen Y. Two generations that generally love creative advertisements, but don’t like when products are pushed upon them. These generations love strategic, subtle marketing and prefer to feel like they discovered brands on their own. Now, huge, flashing online ads don’t really cater to their wants and needs, do they?
Smaller ads still give somewhat of an illusion that they are discovering the content. To use a personal example, I often seek out the smaller ads on blogs and websites because I know those are the companies that don’t have a massive marketing budget, and therefore, are lesser known. This allows me to still feel like I discovered the brand, and wasn’t forced to learn about it. Also, embedding ads within content helps lend to the discovery factor.
The next time you’re placing your ad, especially if your brand targets younger generations, remember bigger isn’t always better.
