Online Creative Design

Key Creative Online Elements

Best practices for creating an online display ad

1. Purpose

• What is the purpose of your ad?– Branding & Awareness? Driving Response?– Define what you want to achieve.

2. Target Audience

• Who is the ad targeted towards?– Sell to those that are likely to listen! The more you know about your

prospects and their interests, the more you can create your message to speak to them.

• Women• Mothers• Budget Conscious

3. Focal Point

• Keep things Simple!– The ad should be a balance of image and text. Identify your strongest selling

point, be concise and reinforce it with an image. – Avoid Clutter!

Vs.

Too many dominating factors Clean, simple, elegant

4. Benefit & Value Proposition

• Give your visitors a reason to take action. – What’s in it for them? – If you are going after that click or conversion,

give your advertiser an incentive to do so. Promotions such as exclusive discounts, free shipping, etc. are tactics that can go a long way.

5. Noticeability

• Design boldly. – Will your image grab attention?– Your ad is not only competing with other ads, but website content.

6. Brand Link

• How easy is it to identify you?– Display your brand prominently. Clicks may be an indicator of ad

engagement, but seeing an ad can have a huge impact on keeping a brand top of mind.

Vs.

No identity of brand Prominent branding

7. Brand Personality

• Design with quality. – Does your ad look professional and exemplify the quality of the products and

services your provide? Is it consistent with your branding?

8. Call-to-action

• Include a strong call-to-action.– You’ve caught the visitors attention; now shouldn’t you let them know what

you want them to do? Create a bit of urgency to give them that extra push.

9. Relevant Landing Page

• Does your landing page support your ad?– The message on your landing page should match the message on your ad.

10. Measure

• Is your ad performing?– Whether it’s branding, traffic to your website, purchases, downloads, foot

traffic to your store, know what the goal is for your ad and measure to see if it is working.

Bonus: Variety & Testing

• Keep it fresh!– Use different sizes and different creative ads to maximize your reach. To

combat the onset of banner fatigue, make sure to update your ad periodically. – Use online to test messages, photos, etc.

Elements Text Image

Other Resources

• Please remember that different elements will matter more or less depending on whether your key objectives are direct response or brand advertising.

• Other useful links– 25 Best Practices in Banner Advertising– Display Banners Creative Tips– Display Creative Checklist– Display Advertising: From Branding to Direct Response– 10 Banner Ad Design Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

• We want to ensure your customers message is properly conveyed. For help, please email cecilie.burleson@kitsapsun.com