Internet Marketing Handbook Series The role of online display advertising and its history Guide To...

Internet Marketing Handbook Series

25C 1ST

ISSUE

COMICSGROUP

EMERGING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND RICH MEDIA STANDARDS!PLUS!

BRAND-BUILDING BOY

& WIKI-WOMAN

TEAM UP WITH

AS THEY TAKE ON

INTRUDER!THE

The year is unknown... consumers world-wide are staring blankly at their screens, waiting to be entertained, inspired and engaged. Only one medium can save them....

....but in his lair of inappropriate interruption, The Intruder waits and plots his next attack...

* *

PRESENTS

***THE INTRUDER

I sense there may be some unethical advertising afoot....

Superheroes to the rescue....

Ah, Brand-building boy and Wiki-woman - So we meet again!

Take THAT! interruptive advertising!

Brand-building boy and Wiki-woman save the day again. No longer will we be force-fed intrusive advertising messages.....THE END.

*AAAGGGR-RRRHHH...

Back to your lair of inappropriate interruption!

Hmmm....

... against the consumers!

I’m irrelevent and rude!

Let’s get creative....

Meanwhile, far far away, Brand-building boy and Wiki-Woman are busy using their powerful rich media tools to rid the world of dull, static marketing messages.

Our work is never done!

The Intruder stands defiant...

Take thatcomsumers!

BUY ME!

Let’s make those pop-ups history!

ENGAGE!

INTERACT!

STORY: AMY KEAN ART: PETER GONZALEZ EDITORS: KIERON MATTHEWS, JACK WALLINGTON & SORCHA PROCTOR

Imagine a cold, dark, static online landscape, let’s call it ‘dial-up’. Where pages load in minutes and internet connection is volatile. You log-on for the bare minimum - to access a snippet of information or send a brief email. The outlook is bleak, and the user experience is poor and unrewarding, with flashy banners and irrelevant pop-ups. Dark times indeed.

But look at us now, with broadband penetration currently at 90% of the total online population (BMRB Internet Monitor, February 2008), it’s no longer whether a consumer is on broadband it’s about how fast their connection is. This has created a whole new playground for advertisers and agencies to create truly engaging executions that complement their audiences’ online activity, rather than harm or hinder it. And, thank heavens, the infamous pop-up is all but dead.

From 2006 to 2007, total internet display advertising spend saw a 31% year-on-year increase, growing to £592m. Furthermore, spend on embedded formats (banners, rich media videos etc) has doubled during the past two years to account for 79% of total display. So, quite clearly, marketers know that it works. Some years ago the IAB set about extolling the virtues of rich media advertising to the industry, but unfortunately there just wasn’t enough great work to go around. Today it’s a very different story, and we have a wealth of powerful rich media examples at our fingertips.

As always, we’ve turned to the experts in digital creative and advertising technology to provide you with a thorough guide to display advertising, and how you can employ it effectively to build your brand online. With an overview of the formats and standards currently in place, insights into the role of online display, strategy and planning, measurement and integration, as well as some exceptional case studies, this handbook should provide all you need to know in this exciting area. If you think we’ve missed anything, just contact us at [email protected].

IAB Online Display Handbook is published by IAB, 14 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NF. All characters in this publication are copyright. ©2008 by Internet Advertising Bureau. All rights reserved.

Written by Amy Kean, Senior PR and Marketing Manager, IAB

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Introduction 1 1. The role of online display advertising and its history 2

2. Guide to formats and standards 6

3. Online creativity and thinking inside the box 10

4. Strategy, Planning and Setting Objectives 17

5. Ad formats and how to use them 20

6. Booking and buying 24

7. Placing adverts across multiple websites 28 (servers and networks)

8. Targeting 33

9. Measurement 37

10. Integration with other media 43

11. The impact of the digital future 48

Glossary 52

1

2

The role of online display advertising

and its history

Guide To Online Display Advertising

IAB Presents:

As the cost of computers fell, more homes and businesses went online and the face of the internet was set to change. Once seen as the domain of geeks, the web became a consumer friendly entity, presenting far more sophisticated information and entertainment options. Interest grew.

This change started a consumer land grab like the gold rush years in pioneering America. Throughout the 90’s the news was full of dotcom millionaires, everyone was panning for gold… even grandmothers were looking for ideas to fund retirement. Investment flowed freely if you had a whiff of a good idea, the fact that many of these ideas had unsustainable business models was largely overlooked.

Chapter One

Bonanza

Throughout the 90’s online advertising had a turbulent yet exciting ride as the new player in the media landscape (introducing the term ‘new media’). The launch of the NCSA Mosaic browser in 1993 introduced us to a graphically enhanced internet versus the original text based version.

TAKE THAT!WRITTEN BY Sabrina Mayeen, PR Manager UK,

DoubleClick

Online content publishers realised that they needed a sustainable commercial framework. Some companies opted for subscription based models, though for the majority, display based advertising was the best way to monetise their site without choking the flow of users.

Display advertising wasn’t a new idea, however translating this to an online audience needed some serious consideration. As far back as the mid-80’s, Prodigy (the IBM and Sears-run dial-up online service) was running graphical placements, the forerunner to what we now know as online display adverts.

Online display advertisinggoes mainstream

3

Guide To Online Display AdvertisingIAB presents:

October 25th 1994 saw the birth of online display as we would recognise it today with the first ever online banner being hosted on Hotwired. AT&T’s “You will” campaign was heralded as the first web ad to run.

In 1996 the “interactive” ad was born. HP’s Shockwave “Pong” banner was the first rich media ad as you could play Pong in the banner.

With ever increasing consumer interest growing in the internet, online display advertising was gaining momentum. In an attempt to create more revenue, websites increased the number of ads across their site and in some cases it wasn’t uncommon to see forty different advertisers on a single page.


Advertisers were accustomed to solus (single) ad slots and did not like being part of a mosaic of adverts. Consumers also looked dimly on a page with more ads than content. This led to websites scaling back the number of advertising placements on their pages, while keeping the ability to place multiple adverts for different advertisers on their site.

This is where the now familiar creative rotation was born and with it the ad server (a company that hosts the ad files, delivering them to multiple websites). To bring standardisation to online display ad formats, the IAB released the first real ad standards in 2003, which has been updated regularly and is still widely used today.

The IAB’s standards led to wider understanding about display and made the creative, booking and placement process far easier. As a model for the introduction of new advertising formats the standards prove that to enable growth, industry wide cooperation and standardisation is essential.

Online display advertising today is far more sophisticated and offers far more choice than during the early years. The dotcom crash of the early noughties is largely a distant memory and online advertising is proving itself to be one of the most effective forms of advertising.

It is a marketing medium in its own right, not just supporting an offline strategy but in some cases leading it. Today when an advertiser plans marketing spend, it is almost inconceivable to omit online display activity from a media schedule. However encouraging this may sound, some advertisers still need convincing. Online represents 25% of an individual’s media consumption in the UK yet only 12-15% of budgets are being allocated to the medium.

Intruder Alert!Attack! ATTACK!

ATTACK!

4

“As a model for the introduction of new advertising formats the standards prove that to enable growth, industry wide cooperation and standardisation is essential.”

The end of the beginning

There continues to be an explosion of formats to captivate the consumer. Expandables, transitionals, superstitials, drop downs, page peels, reminders… a new format is born almost every day to keep ahead of the competition and to interact with, inform and entertain online users. And video is just heating up.

Online display advertising has seen a dramatic evolution, mainly due to consumer demand and ease of access. Media planners need to think about how their audiences use the internet to effectively engage with them and ensure the best ROI for their advertisers.

For many of the social aspects of the internet, widgets have already started to play a large role in capturing online consumers and video continues to break ground and create new advertising opportunities.

Optimisation of campaigns will grow in importance and, it is unlikely that there will be many online display campaigns not utilising this technology in the future. The future of online will hold more choice for advertisers than ever.

5

NEXT CHAPTER

GUIDE TO FORMATS AND STANDARDS

ENGAGE!

Now and beyond

More choice

There is a moment of awesome silence...

Guide to formats and standards

The IAB produces standards for internet advertising to help you choose ads that will work across all websites and to offer a set of formats that are optimised to make the most of the medium.

Chapter Two

Make pop-ups history

IAB UK no longer recommends that advertisers use pop-ups because they are intrusive, bad for user experience and more effective formats are now available. We define a pop-up as an ad that opens in its own window without warning to the user.

Buy Me!


WRITTEN BY Jack Wallington,

Programmes Manager, IAB

IAB Presents:

6

There are four dimensions of advert that are used by publishers around the world known as the IAB Universal Advertising Package (UAP):

7

Other dimensions are available depending on the publisher, for the full list of standard display ad dimensions visit our website iabuk.net/standardsandguidelines.

• File type: .gif or Flash files.• Max file size: 30KB.• Max animation: 15 seconds. • Sound: off by default and

user initiated.

Banner728 x 90

Square250 x 250

Rectangle(MPU)

336 x 280

Skyscraper160 x 600

IAB display standards

Adding video to display ads is now incredibly easy, no matter which dimension you choose. Video increases the impact of an ad and can be included without affecting the file size by being streamed in after the ad has loaded on the page. The rectangle MPU is best suited to video because it matches closely to the dimensions of a video player. However, expandable ads allow you to stretch the area to accommodate large, high quality video in any format.

Expandable ads are Flash files using standard dimensions but allowing the ad to stretch over the content of a page when a user interacts. These aren’t intrusive because the user has to click or place their cursor over the ad for the expansion to happen.

The same standards as normal display adverts apply to expandables but you obviously have additional space, once expanded, to offer interactive forms and more text, picture or video content.

Publishers have different specs for expanded dimensions, but a number of basic guidelines apply:

8


Video

Expandables

• Expand: ads must only expand when a user interacts on click or mouseover (when the cursor is placed over the advert).

• Close: ads must close immediately after a user has moved their mouse away.

• Into the page: the advert must expand into the content of the page. For example, a skyscraper on the right of a page should expand to the left and a horizontal banner at the top of the page should expand downwards.

• Sound: off by default and user initiated (either on click or mouseover). The sound must stop immediately when an advert closes.

MPU

Overlays are adverts that appear over the content of a page and a user must click a close button on the advert to remove it. These adverts must use the same rules as standard adverts but the dimensions and positioning are decided by the publisher.

Sponsorships are arranged directly with publishers allowing you to customise the design of certain pages (e.g. site homepage or a section). Types of sponsorship can vary from simply including your logo through to adding your brand to the entire site design for a set period of time. Sponsorships are incredibly high-impact.

Like websites, online ads should be made to be accessible. Simple considerations are:

• Include ALT text.• Make sure text is large and very clear against coloured

backgrounds.• Include a written alternative to audio.

New formats appear regularly as advertisers and publishers work to find the most effective ads. Already we are seeing ‘supersize banners’ that are much larger than standard banners and expandables that fill the entire screen when opened. Thanks to faster broadband the size of the files will gradually increase too.


NEXT

ONLINE CREATIVITY

& THINKING

INSIDE THE BOX!

Accessible adverts

Overlays

Sponsorship

New formats

9

EffectivenessFor more information on the effectiveness of each ad format and to decide what is right for you, see chapter 6.

expandable

skyscraper

Online creativity and thinking inside the box

Online display advertising has only been around in its finest form for 5 or so years. Yet despite its relative infancy, we have already noted some common industry-wide misconceptions that must be addressed as the medium grows:

Chapter Three Guide To Online Display Advertising

Amy Kean, Senior PR and Marketing Manager, IAB

IAB Presents:

10

Let’s get creative

Misconceptions about display

• Firstly, that online is a restrictive space allowing for little creativity.

• Second, that internet display advertising should be interruptive –

consumers will never notice you unless you get in their way.

• Finally, online is all about direct response because it’s the most

measureable, accountable medium that can facilitate sales from

the initial point of consumer interest.

This chapter should put to rest each one of these

false perspectives.

WRITTEN BY

In the previous chapter, we discussed the formats and standards for display advertising – the shapes and sizes that online creatives must adhere to throughout the conceptual and production process. Anecdotally we know that those in the digital creative industry at first felt somewhat restricted by the ‘confined’ space offered by online. For marketers who understood the traditional dimensional ‘boundaries’ of marketing - time for television and radio, and a much larger, more defined advertising space with print and outdoor, the online display formats felt like a cage. What was there to do in such a small area of the consumer’s viewing pane? How could you possibly be creative with a surface area of just a few centimetres? How can you impress and engage your audience with online, when traditional advertising can take you to other worlds with incredible wide-screen visuals and extensive prose?

But over the years, making the most of the online space has become a challenge embraced by the digital creative community, who have pushed the boundaries of display advertising to create eye-catching, response-evoking and award-winning work. Within the confinements of the banner, skyscraper or MPU, you are able to change perspective, tell stories in sequence and expand upon request, enabling your consumer to interact further. The trick is to think inside the boxes available and understand exactly what it is that grabs the audience’s attention during their online session.

Thankfully, the theory that popping up in front of a computer screen with a far-from-relevant message is almost extinct. Accounting for just 0.5% of all online advertising expenditure in 2007, over the next few years - and by the time the internet becomes the biggest marketing medium - the IAB hopes that this will total a massive 0%. For many media owners and agencies, pop-up advertising is a thing of the past that no longer even bears thinking about. But in terms of advertiser, and indeed consumer perception, there is still a job to be done to educate our wider audiences and show them exactly what is possible with display advertising.

11

Inside the box

Make pop-ups history!

“Making the most of the online space has become a challenge embraced by the digital creative community, who have pushed the boundaries of display advertising to create eye-catching, response-evoking and award-winning work.”

In fact, rather than just encouraging the old faithful ‘click to buy’ (which does serve a purpose, of course), display advertising online has a number of other roles which have been showcased exceptionally within a wealth of recent campaigns, such as:

• Raising awareness • Entertainment • Evoking an emotional response • Integrating and extending the brand • Driving online PR and embracing the social element of the web

There are, of course, a number of further roles for display advertising which can be incorporated into the creative execution depending on the campaign objectives. For automotive marketers for example, it can be a great way of capturing data, enabling online users to provide contact information and even book a test drive within the format and without having to leave the site they’re on. Furthermore some ads can simply provide the online audience with all the information they need, again without having to interfere with their online session and navigate away for more details. The display advertising from Yell.com consistently fulfils this role, integrating the key function of the site within the online formats to provide users with information regarding local venues and amenities.

In July 2007, Grand Union launched a summer campaign for The Department of Health. Under the umbrella brand of ‘Condom Essential Wear’, the focus of this campaign was to extend the strategy of normalising condoms amongst young adults and to communicate that they should pack condoms when they are going away on holiday.

12


Raising awareness

“Some ads can simply provide the online audience with all the information they need, without having to interfere with their online session and navigate away for more details.”

Strong engagement with the audience was important as they are unlikely to seek out this educative information themselves. Using a range of interactive executions, the aim was to grab the user’s attention, such as the ‘beer goggles’ ad, which illustrated the effect that alcohol can have on one’s perception of attractiveness.

Given that IKEA sell stylish furnishings at affordable prices, the key consumer insight to challenge was the widespread belief that low price equals low quality. Agency.com showed people that, when it came to purchasing an IKEA kitchen, they didn’t have to sacrifice quality for price. To shift perceptions and gain cut-through, they set out to dramatise in an unexpected and engaging way not only the robustness of the product but also the extreme lengths that IKEA go to in ensuring their kitchens are up to the job.

IKEA use test robots to make sure all their kitchens are finished to the highest level and so the ‘Kitchens that are built for real life’ campaign was devised. Bringing together a strong concept and digital expertise, they created an innovative, integrated idea that worked effectively not only across a range of online rich media formats but also as offline in press, cross track, outdoor and bus-side executions.

Only one medium can save them...

13

Entertainment

Some online ads are just there to be entertaining, to engage you with their simplicity and humour. The IKEA Kitchen ads – an IAB, and indeed industry favourite – from early 2007, are a perfect example of an entertaining rich media execution that fits the bill perfectly.

14


Evoking an emotional response

Glue London have been the longstanding digital creative agency for the Royal Marines, reaching out to their target audience with hard-hitting creative and stark messaging, such as the ‘99% need not apply’ campaign of 2006.

The campaign featured ‘IKEA test robots’ in fun and often surprising scenarios, demonstrating the extensive testing undertaken to guarantee the quality of each kitchen. Placing rebellious, moody or steamy robots in a range of different real-life situations, the executions showcase the depth, style and functionality of IKEA kitchens, whilst also highlighting their appeal across a range of lifestyles and tastes.

In 2007, a further Royal Marines recruitment campaign capitalised on the online space to communicate the intensity of this career. The idea behind the campaign was that you can make it if you have the right state of mind. The creative idea was based around the unique commando spirit of the Royal Marines - steely determination, patience, enterprise, discipline in all conditions, understated confidence and a dry sense of humour to help get them through some fiercely intense combat situations.

With attention-grabbing video ads, each bespoke to the online format, Glue created a range of backdrops for the ‘typical’ Royal Marine to venture through, such as jungles and snowy mountain ranges. The ads were fully interactive, with the user able to change perspective to fully appreciate the tough experiences Royal Marines face every day.

Online display advertising can also promote and drive you to a richer online experience, which is less about sales and more about appreciating the brand via a dedicated microsite or brand’s own site. GT’s work for the Audi A5 did this to target an audience ‘beyond the reaches of traditional advertising’.

The brief was to create and drive people to an online destination that would build the Audi brand by increasing the desirability of the new Audi A5 Coupé. The main aim of the campaign was to capture the interest of sophisticated, metropolitan 35/40 year olds who are extremely image conscious and wanted a beautiful, rather than a fun car. GT therefore played on their audience’s creative ambitions, tantalising them with a beautiful site and flattering them with a creative tool that would reward them both on and offline.

The Audi design team describes the new A5 as ‘a rhythm of lines.’ This line had already been used in the TV work, and it seemed only natural to build on this line to devise a beautiful, intuitive site that allowed the audience to create their own ‘rhythm of lines’ - rhythmoflines.co.uk. The audience was driven to the site from online advertising placed on design-led sites such as Wallpaper, The Times Online Arts Section and Creative Review, and invited people to create their own ‘rhythm of lines’ in a way that had never been seen before, and receive a limited edition print of their design.

FMCG marketers, more than most, have taken their time to fully embrace internet display advertising, particularly since they hold such a heritage with the more traditional media. Confectionary advertisers in particular are responsible for some of the most memorable TV campaigns we’ve seen over the years. So, making that move to online is quite a big step, and a 2008 campaign from Cadburys Creme Egg produced by CMW Interactive, wholeheartedly ran with the range of formats available to successfully extend the brand, whilst integrating the creative with other media activity.

The Creme Egg digital campaign consisted of a microsite to support the new brand direction ‘Here today, goo tomorrow’, which was complemented by interactive rich media ads. Extending the brand even further, and with the target audience in mind, CMW Interactive also integrated content into the online animated series ‘Weebl & Bob’ and created a sponsored Bebo profile and application.

Only one medium can save them...

Integrating and extending the brand

15

They used online PR, seeding and an advertising campaign to drive traffic to the Resident Evil Extinction website. Here, users signed up and created a competition avatar which they looked after until the day they were released onto the web into some never-seen-before live rich media placements over a number of sites. Here, they were killed off throughout the day...until there was only one.

Whilst vastly different in terms of the brief, objectives, target audiences and execution, one thing unites each of these campaigns – a great idea and even better creative, effectively engaging the user and playing with the space provided to complement the online session. Each of these highly innovative pieces of work was produced bearing in mind the opportunities offered by internet display advertising, rather than its restrictions. Of course, this chapter has provided just a snapshot of the great campaigns that the internet boasts, and you can find more at www.creativeshowcase.net – the monthly IAB and Microsoft Advertising awards that celebrate the best in online creativity.

More recently, a standout campaign from Greenroom Digital effectively exploited the community nature of online for the Resident Evil Extinction movie, with a groundbreaking online event which engaged participants right up until DVD release day.

Driving online PR and embracingthe social nature of the web

16


NEXT CHAPTER

STRATEGY, PLANNING AND SETTING OBJECTIVES

17

Strategy, Planning and Setting Objectives

Chapter Four Guide To Online Display Advertising

Matt Gilbert, Commercial Development, The Guardian

IAB Presents:

Online does not operate in a vacuum. To get the best from an online campaign, the strategy and planning should be part of the overall process. The role for online will entirely depend on the campaign idea and the consumer insight that has shaped the overall media communications. The following are a selection of typical strategic approaches to planning an online campaign.

Strategy

Hmmm...I must plan my next attack!

WRITTEN BY

Online reaches the majority of adults in the UK, and for some younger audiences it is the dominant medium. For some older audiences it still equals the amount of time they spend with television. For some marketers, using online is simply a matter of following where their audience chooses to spend their time.

Build awareness of your brand and product by building reach and frequency

Build interest and consideration in your brand and product by offering depth and substantiation to your product claims

18


Online is great at explaining the detail and innovation behind a new product or service. This can be in a format similar to an advertorial in a magazine, but remember that websites allow an audience to explore as little or as much as they wish; and it does not have to just be text, but 3D models, video and audio guides.

Example 1

Example 2

• Tip 1: identify an appropriate media owner partner using the tips from the first example and then build a content area (or microsite). Then ask the media owner to forecast the number of users they think they can attract into the site. Ask them for case studies of previous work with similar sector advertisers.

• Tip 2: track all the pages of your microsite, to measure the interest from the visitors, and how many pages they read.

• Tip 3: use the same system to track the amount of time spent on the site (dwell time). Ask your media owner partner to compare this to their average dwell time to build a picture of how strong your content performed.

• Tip 2: use an online planning tool like Comscore that can calculate duplicated reach across several websites.

• Tip 1: use Target Group Index (TGI) to check where your target audience spend their time online. TGI now has many websites detailed separately, so that you can drill down into detailed site usage.

• Tip 4: the reach and frequency of your campaign can be tracked on a daily basis, and it is possible to optimise mid-campaign.

• Tip 3: use a press and online planning tool like GNM’s Total Audience, which can help you calculate how your audience consumes both their press and online media, and how much duplication that creates.

Online has had to work hard to convince marketers that it is more than an information medium but that it can also touch the hearts and minds of consumers. For certain products like finance, travel, recruitment and even the automotive sector consumers are driven by high needs for information and online delivers this well. More recently advertisers have realised that other brands can benefit, even when the message is not particularly information rich but simply a campaign to build a tone and feel of the brand.

Agencies and media owners have been investing in specialist online departments that can guide advertisers through the options. Media owners who are serious about the medium have been investing heavily, to improve their services and understanding of their audience.

It is a collaborative process, so don’t be afraid to ask media owners and agencies to get together even just to talk through an idea; any company worth working with will be happy to sit down and develop ideas with you.


Generate desire in your products and services

19

Example 3

• Tip 2: ask media owners for any research about how their users respond to pre-roll advertising within their video content. Research has suggested that capping the number of ads is important, as is using short form 10-15 second length formats to minimise irritation.

• Tip 1: consider using online video. TV and cinema ads work well because audio/visual media provides a rich palette to communicate with. Online is not just about the user generated video content of YouTube. Established quality television broadcasters like ITV and Channel 4 broadcast a selection of their programmes online, MSN broadcasts live music events, Bebo and MySpace have been producing original programming, and some of the newspaper websites have produced their own high quality feature programmes, as well as breaking news bulletins.

• Tip 3: contact the IAB for documents, standards and advice!

NEXT: AD FORMATS AND HOW TO USE THEM!

Summary

Online offers a myriad of opportunities that can make it seem complicated.


IAB Presents:

20

Chapter Five

Ad formats and how to use them

Laura Chaibi, Media Research Manager, Orange

MPU, skyscraper, or supersize banner – which format is best? Do people respond differently to ad formats depending on their mindset and the online environments they are in (i.e. shopping, travel, news etc...)?

Use those formats!

Extensive research has been done to answer these exact questions, and this research is used within this chapter to offer you an insight into the best formats for you.

WRITTEN BY

Chart 1 outlines what UK users think of different ad formats comparing how much impact ads have against how intrusive audiences find them.

Top left: low impact / high intrusion, ads can be irritating when the user has no control; formats in this quadrant are best used in entertainment environments or a homepage (before users start their online journey).

Top right: high impact / high intrusion, these formats can get your message across; great for campaigns needing cut through and attention.

Bottom right: high impact / low intrusion, the best quadrant for ad formats; formats are not too intrusive and perceived as part of the online environment. Creative may heighten the effect of the formats impact.

Bottom left: low impact / low intrusion, ads that are smaller and usually built into the page design. Creative will need to work harder to get the cut through on the page. Users like these formats when looking at editorial content (news, sports etc...) as they are less disruptive.

Impact vs. intrusion

21

UK ad formats impact vs. intrusion

lowerimpact

highimpact

lower intrusion

high intrusion

MPU to overlaynon user initiated

content overlay nonuser initiated

push down nonuser initiated

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

3020100 40 50

overlay

banner to overlay

video MPUmargins

skyscraper

sponsorship

exp. d.c.banner

supersizebanner

banner &expandable

banner

static MPU

d.c. = data capture

2006 data2007 data

Impact – intrusion = acceptability

Some ad formats are simply more acceptable to users than others. Taking the net difference between impact – intrusion, chart 2 highlights how the skyscraper is the most acceptable ad format as it is high on impact with a low intrusion score while the video MPU performs just as well as margins (skyscrapers on both sides of the page).

Negative impact scores mean you need to consider the ad format, the advertiser brand and your objectives. Responsible media owners cap the frequency of these ads and try to match ads with content as well as audiences. These formats can be really effective when used properly.

More intrusive ads tend to be better favoured amongst youth and in entertainment environments, for example overlays have a positive acceptability score of 7 for men under age 35 in entertainment environments.

22


Acceptability

Acceptability Rank UK

“Negative impact scores mean you need to consider the ad format, the advertiser brand and your objectives.”

skyscraper

video

margins

expandable data capture banner (i)

expandable data capture banner

banner to overlay

expandable banner

supersize banner

standard banner

expandable banner (i)

sponsorship

static MPU

push down

overlay

content overlay

MPU to overlay

21

17

17

15

15

12

11

11

11

9

8

5

-3

-5

-11

-12

non user initiated

(i) = interacted with ad

2006 data2007 data

Control is important to audiences and one of the most irritating things is not being able to find the close button on an ad. Encouragingly, interactive ads are well liked particularly when users can choose when and when not to interact.

2 in 3 people like push downs ads when they control the interaction. Push down ads expand pushing content down and can take up as much as half a page; giving brands the attention and engagement they are seeking from audiences.

Source: Orange reconnect Study 2006/07

Men under 35

• video MPU• skyscraper• supersize banner • expandable data capture

banner• banner

Men over 35

• banner• video MPU• expandable data capture

banner• skyscraper• supersize banner

Women under 35

• skyscraper• video MPU• expandable data capture

banner• banner to overlay banner• supersize banner

Women over 35

• skyscraper• expandable data capture

banner• video MPU• masthead• expandable banner

Superheroes to the rescue!

NEXT

BOOKING AND

BUYING!

23

How to use ads properlyTop formats by

gender and age

Booking and buying


Carlton Cribb, Digital Buying Director, Zed Media

IAB Presents:

24

Chapter Six

Booking and buying ads needn’t be a difficult or scary process. This chapter explains everything we think you need to know to select where you want your ads to appear, where to book and getting value for money.

Selecting websites

The nature of the online environment and the many technologies that are utilised within the medium mean that there are a number of different ways to select the websites to include on a media schedule and to target consumers. Targeting will be discussed at greater length later in the relevant chapter of this handbook. Ways of selecting a website to reach the right consumer include:

• Mindset: catching consumers during the relevant activity phase, e.g. when they are actively searching for a relevant product or service. Search and shopping sites are examples of targeting to a user’s mindset.

• Lifestyle: targeting similar to offline, via interest groups, hobbies, sports, etc.

Let’s book those ads!

WRITTEN BY

• Demographic targeting: by matching the target audience for the campaign to websites through the use of proprietary web auditing tools.

• Geographic targeting: targeting by country, e.g. by domain (.co.uk, .co.fr) or by local targeting (e.g. by area specific sites or ISP).

• Behavioural targeting: relevant technology anonymously analyses a user’s internet behaviour and categorises interests. Users are then matched to relevant advertisers. Targeting this way can help minimise media wastage.

• Contextual targeting: this is similar to targeting via interest groups and hobbies. Though while these will be targeted via website or channel, contextual targeting aligns advertisers with relevant content across a whole site or a network of sites.

Due to the large number of websites that advertisers can use for display media, having a point of contact at each individual site would mean thousands of sales representatives for an agency to speak to, and would not be cost-effective for smaller publications to represent themselves. As such there are three predominant points of contact when booking online display space.

• Publishers direct. Largely consisting of:

1. Sites that shadow offline content be it print, radio or TV. The content tends to be an extension of offline content. They offer a more targeted sale aimed at their target audience/user, and give medium coverage with high frequency.

2. Larger online publishers, e.g. portals, shopping and lifestyle sites. Such sites are suppliers of highly targeted inventory and can offer high coverage and frequency.

• Sales Houses

Sales Houses tend to sell display advertising space on websites that are `niche’ or smaller than average.

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Where to book selected websites

• Networks

Networks predominantly broker distressed/residual inventory from UK Worldwide sites. This inventory is generally sold onto the advertisers on a `blind’ basis, i.e. the advertiser does not know exactly which sites that they are buying on. However, due to the nature of it being distressed inventory the capital costs for buying this space can be a fraction of buying on sites direct via publishers and sales houses. Inventory tends to be bought on the following basis:

1. Run of network: high reach at low cost.

2. By vertical channel: where inventory is categorised by sector, e.g. finance, automotive, etc.

3. Demographically: where sites are grouped and categorised by core demographic.

Buying metrics

• CPM (cost per thousand): a unit price per thousand ad impressions that are shown. This is the most common form of trading currency for online display space. The more targeted, the higher the rate tends to be. Prices can range from £1’s/100 to £100’s/1,000. Buying on this metric allows the advertiser to control volume and predict reach.

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A network allows an advertiser to place adverts across multiple publisher websites.

ENGAGE!


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• CPC (cost per click): a unit price that is paid each time a user clicks on an advertiser’s display creative. Although this buying metric is mainly the domain of PPC search advertising, it is possible to buy on this basis in the display space usually from Networks across residual inventory. It can be hard to control delivery of a campaign when using this buying metric as it is subject to user behaviour.

• CPA (cost per acquisition): a unit price for an ‘acquisition’ on the advertiser’s site. An acquisition may take many forms; user registration, request for a brochure or other information and the purchase of a product. This is the most cost-effective of all the buying metrics and is how affiliate marketing is traded. In the display space many networks can offer a CPA, usually after a CPM test to assess the commercial implications.

Ensuring good value

The key to a media agency ensuring best value for their clients is negotiation. The key processes in negotiation can include:

• Preparation: knowing your stuff can be the difference between an excellent and average deal. Know your limits and what you can offer.

• Understand the advertiser: the business, marketing and campaign objectives.

• Understand the market: how healthy is it? Supply vs demand, what is the current driving force?

• Historical data: what is your trading history with a publication?

• What do you want to achieve? Understand your objectives. Have a wish list, and a list of concessions to bargain with.

• What does the media owner want to achieve?

To be truly effective at good buying within the online display space you must understand the wealth of opportunities in the medium, as well as ‘staying ahead of the game’ in what is an ever-evolving market place with the ‘next big thing’ changing on a yearly basis.

NEXT: Placing adverts across multiple websites (servers & networks)!

Let’s make those pop-ups

history!

Placing adverts across multiple websites (servers and networks)


Joseph Pamboris, Digital Operations Account Director, OMD UK/MG OMD

IAB Presents:

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Chapter Seven

What is an ad server?

What is a third-party ad server?

An ad server is the software used to deliver display advertising and clickable text-based ads to the person’s internet browser. The ad server typically is responsible for selecting the appropriate ad to serve. It is also responsible for administrative tasks including the counting of impressions and clicks, and reporting on campaign performance.

A third-party ad server is independent to the company serving the advertisements. A third-party ad server is considered to be a trusted provider of data that should regularly stick to guidelines as set out by industry bodies such as the IAB.

WRITTEN BY

Ad servers allow the advertiser to place their ads on multiple websites and monitor their performance. By assigning your creative to multiple placements implemented into the ad server, the ad server will then turn this creative into code which is passed onto sites. This code does not change once sent over (provided the placement size remains the same). Therefore the advertiser can manually update or change creative themes without the need to resend to every single site on the plan.

Before the campaign starts the advertiser or agency inputs the placements into the ad server. The creatives are uploaded and assigned to the corresponding placements and the ad server converts each placement into a piece of code which is sent to publisher sites.

In the same way as for print advertising, the network/publisher (not the ad server) is responsible for when these ads are shown; but the advertiser using an ad server will have control of what creative to show at any given time. This allows for a change to an ad being made once a campaign is live, resulting in an update of multiple websites within minutes.

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Networks

Networks are sales houses that serve the advertising to several different websites. Some of them tell you the sites you can run your advertising on, while others run as blind networks – where you don’t know all site content. By providing creative code to the network they will serve your advertising message across several different websites within minutes. Networks themselves will use an ad server to determine when your ads run, where they will be running, even who they will be serving the advertisements to.

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The Internet Advertising Sales Houses (IASH) council, was established in 2005, to create greater transparency and stricter processes to prevent adverts from major brands appearing next to inappropriate content. It aims to do this while reinforcing advertiser confidence and to further promote the real benefits of the online advertising network business model.

IASH exists to encourage best practice among online advertising sales houses through the adoption of an effective Code of Conduct. This Code provides a formal framework of best practice for IASH Members to follow when dealing with advertisers, agencies, networks and site owners.

All applicant members must undergo a stringent audit process from ABCe - the industry owned, tri-partite, non-profit organisation, which works on behalf of advertisers, media buyers and media owners, providing independent verification and certification for data related to electronic media.

For more information on IASH, visit the website www.iash.org.uk.

Let’s rid the world of dull marketing strategies!

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Discrepancies

If for any reason the call from the publisher ad server does not reach the advertiser’s ad server it is likely that discrepancies will occur among the two ad servers’ stats. Discrepancies are quite common and can happen for many reasons, however the IAB is looking at ways of minimising this and working closely with agencies, publishers and ad servers to document best practice for avoiding high discrepancies between stats.

Benefits of using an ad server

There are many benefits to using an ad server including:

• Full control of your campaign.

• Gives you the ability to monitor reach and frequency.

• Creative targeting: creative can be changed in minutes allowing you to choose which creatives are working best for each site making live optimisation easy.

How ad serving works

1. Consumer goes to the publisher site.

2. Publisher’s ad server calls advertiser’s ad server for the ad files.

3. Ad files are sent to the site via advertiser’s ad server and served on the site.

4. Every ad call (impression) and user click on each advert is recorded and logged by the ad server for reporting purposes.

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• Creative rotation: send sequential advertisements, segment audiences to test creative messaging, landing page.

• You can monitor true impression count by reconciling your ad server stats with that of the publisher.

• You can monitor sales, leads and page impressions via the use of a tracking tag which can determine if the user had seen or clicked on a specific ad in your campaign - useful for ROI or CPA.

• All reporting can be accessed in one place; there’s no need to have to combine several reports and spend time matching up your campaign results.

Benefits of using a network

• Ability to serve to a high reach of internet users quickly. Some of the bigger networks are capable of serving to 10.5m unique users in one day.

• High reach allows a range of different demographic profiles to target to.

• Networks generally have low cost per transaction (CPT) charges due to economies of scale and the fact that a lot of the inventory is left over.


NEXT CHAPTER

TARGETING!

Hmmm....Brand-building boy and Wiki-woman - So we meet again!

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Targeting

Chapter Eight Guide To Online Display Advertising

Andrew Fawcett-Wolf Managing Director, Thrive Digital

IAB Presents:

Advertising is not dead yet but in rather rude health – it’s just developing with the shift to digital marketing channels. Which, after all, is where your current and future customers can already (mostly) be found.

Online is the most accountable advertising medium yet. This is simply because of the volume and type of data it produces in real time. Thus it enables advertisers and their agents to target and re-target individuals continually with greater effectiveness than ever before.

“Advertising is on its deathbed and it will not survive long, having contracted a fatal case of new technology.”

“I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half.”

There are three primary methods of targeting consumers with display advertising:

1. Content 2. Context 3. Behaviour

Our work is never done

WRITTEN BY

1

2

The ability to target along with the creative execution is fundamental but you need to start out with clear objectives and plan accordingly.

A good planning and buying agency therefore is vital and one who has the ability to understand, analyse and interpret campaign data sources will be more successful in the ability to successfully target and re-target users for the desired outcome.

The flip side to the planning and buying of targeted inventory is that the publishers that own the inventory are under increased pressure to be able to deliver premium/targeted inventory.

There are different methods of targeting with the most popular based on content, context, and behaviour.

1. Content targeting

You can reach particular types of people by placing your ads on pages with content that will attract that group. Two types of content you are likely to use are:

• Professional content: you can advertise on pages written by an editorial team who have subject matter expertise and are trusted by users. Ads can be targeted by brands servicing the particular sector i.e. a car manufacturer advertising on a car site. You can take this principle further and target specific content or zones within a particular site such as the feature section on a car site.

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“The secret in warfare and in life is to understand what’s behind the next hill.”

1 Roland T. Rust and Richard W. Oliver, “The Death of Advertising,” Journal of Advertising, 1994, 23(4): 71-77, p. 76.2 originally attributed to Viscount Leverhulme , Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations, 1991, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 136.3 Duke of Wellington

There is only so much of this inventory to go round and competition for premium inventory is already hot, resulting in the inevitable cost of this inventory rising. With the likes of eMarketer predicting (see chart below) that online advertising spend in the UK will double by 2010, this is partially where the additional money will be spent.

Types of targeting

3

UK Online Advertising Spending, 2006-2011 (billions and % increase vs. prior year)

2006

£2.02

46.8%

$3.72

49.4%

2007

£2.64

31.0%

$5.28

42.3%

2008

£3.24

22.8%

$6.41

21.3%

2009

£3.73

15.2%

$7.16

11.2%

2010

£4.11

10.3%

$7.77

8.5%

2011

£4.45

8.5%

$8.24

6.5%

Online ad spending

% growth

Online ad spending

% growth

Note: converted at average annual exchange rates (projected for future years); includes paid search.Source: eMarketer, June 2007

Holy Smoke! The consumers are under attack!

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• User generated content (UGC): you can advertise on pages where people are posting or reading user generated content. Bear in mind that they might not want to purchase a specific product at that moment in time, but effective creative and targeted advertising can influence the user to take a

desired action.

Ad technology exists that knows the meaning of a page’s content so that pages can be excluded if desired. Many sales networks sell inventory as single site sales, channel sales (a collection of sites serving the same or similar subject matter) or blind inventory /run of service/network (no real form of targeting applied and therefore one of the cheapest forms used to obtain the greatest reach).

2. Context targeting

Context targeting is when you place ads on a website based on the context of a person viewing the website, whether it’s the subject they’ve searched for, their location or personal details. Key ways of selecting and refining audiences you advertise to include:

• Demographic targeting: user data/demographic.

• Geographic targeting: by the user’s Internet protocol (IP) address which at the highest level gives the country they are browsing from or down to region, city or even postcode level.

• Keyword targeting: the ability to target display ad formats via keywords is a very powerful method and how many of the leading search engines (that still exist) started out.

• Time (day parting): showing ads only at certain times of the day, such as lunch time for discount meal vouchers.

• Frequency capping: the ability for ad technology to limit the number of exposures or impressions an individual browser (person) is exposed to.

• Creative: ad format – using the IAB advertising standards – size, type (standard or rich media: video/expandable etc) or location of ad format.

INTERACT!

3. Behavioural targeting (BT)

A small file called a cookie can be stored in a person’s browser, keeping a record of the sites and content a person has been viewing within a set time period (usually 3 months). This can then be aggregated to a multi-site or network level to understand what groups of people (segments) have been doing and, more importantly, what they might do in the future. When used for online advertising this technology is known as behavioural targeting (BT), allowing for more relevant advertising for consumers and better ROI.

A new form of BT is emerging that’s not based on people’s cookies but information gathered by their internet service provider (ISP). This is a hot topic currently with several of the leading UK ISP’s planning to deploy such technology. Once launched, data may be used by the ISP for ad targeting purposes.

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NEXT CHAPTER

MEASUREMENT!

“A new form of BT is emerging that’s not based on people’s cookies but information gathered by their internet service provider (ISP).”

ENGAGE!

37

Chapter Nine Guide To Online Display Advertising

IAB Presents:

Campaign measurement is essential to any medium and none more so than the internet. Also like other media, it’s important to determine what you will be measuring upfront. This chapter will discuss different methods of measuring display advertising to help you on your way.

Let’s measure the impact!

MeasurementMeasurement

For researchers and measurement specialists alike, the luxury of interactive advertising can be found in its name. By definition, interactive advertising is advertising with which consumers can directly interact. Consequently, these behaviours can be directly measured and impact directly quantified, whether by behavioural metrics (such as click-through rates and interaction rates) or brand metrics (such as awareness and purchase intent).

Unlike our offline media counterparts, who can only identify advertising exposure implicitly, exposure to interactive advertising can be measured and tracked explicitly. We know which consumers have been exposed to the ads – their demographics, their behaviours, and so on.

Display measurement

Laurie Kirschner, UK and Pan-European Research Manager, Yahoo!

WRITTEN BY

As a result, we can use this knowledge to set up a near experimental design whereby a matched control group of consumers who have not been exposed to the ads can be established, and their resulting behaviour and/or changes in attitudes tracked and compared to that of the test group of consumers who have been exposed to the ad. If the two groups are matched well enough, no confounding variables will be present – the only difference will be the exposure to the ad.

Thus, any differences in behaviour or changes in attitudes can be tied back to this exposure. This methodology can be used to measure the impact of all items discussed in previous chapters of this guide, including the differing impact of various ad formats, the effect of behavioural targeting (over and above contextually targeted or untargeted ads) and the use of ad networks.

• Click-through rate (CTR) – the number of users who clicked on an interactive ad divided by the number of times the ad was delivered, expressed as a percentage – is the most basic of all behavioural response metrics. It quickly allows marketers to understand the degree to which consumers responded to their ads. Since it is simple to calculate, CTR is often used to measure the success of an interactive campaign. While it is a powerful metric – particularly for campaigns that have an immediate call-to-action – it is important to use it within a suite of other response metrics in order to understand the full story. This is because CTR does not include people who failed to click on the ad, but arrived at the site later, as a result of seeing the ad previously. This latter metric is known as ‘view-throughs’ and has often been shown to account for higher conversion rates than ‘click-throughs’ on interactive advertising.

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Behavioural response measurement

Let’s make those popups history!

39

• Ad engagement metrics – a set of metrics used to show the number or percentage of users who have interacted with a particular rich-media ad – can be used to further measure the success of an interactive campaign. These metrics are often used to round out the picture of campaign impact by showing the additional number of consumers whose interest in the advertised brand was piqued to such an extent that they involved themselves with the ad. The suite of ad engagement metrics can be found to the left.

By using these additional behavioural metrics, the marketer is able to see the total number of actual conversion opportunities since those who interact with the ad are as valuable as the (often smaller number of people) who click through to the brand website.

• Keyword search volume – the change in number of searches on particular branded keywords – is a useful metric used to show further engagement with the advertised brand. Using the experiment design methodology outlined above, marketers can measure and compare the search behaviour of those exposed to the advertisements online, to that of a matched control sample who have not been exposed. The analysis is conducted on branded keywords related to the campaign. If the two groups are well matched and the exposed group shows an increase in keyword search volume over and above that of the control group, we can say that exposure to the interactive campaign led to a change in behaviour and an increase in engagement with the advertised brand.

Although historically plagued by scepticism due to its survey recruitment methodology, online brand impact measurement has evolved considerably over time to become a fundamental part of post-campaign reporting.

• Interaction rate: the percentage of times an ad has been rolled over or clicked on to launch a panel or interactive portion of the ad.

• Average brand interaction time: the amount of time each consumer spends interacting with the ad, on average.

• Total panel views: the total number of panels or interactive portions of the ad views by those exposed to

the ad.

The Intruder’s Lair!

Behavioural response measurement

TO BE CONTINUED OVERLEAF...!

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When marketers measure the brand impact of a campaign, they can test the following:

• Unaided brand awareness – measures users’ recall of the test brand without prompting.

• Aided brand awareness – measures users’ recall of the test brand from a short list provided.

• Ad recall / online ad awareness – measures users’ recollection of an ad for the test brand.

• Message association – measures users’ recollection of the campaign key messages.

• Brand favourability – measures the percentage of users that view the brand positively.

• Purchase intent – measures the percentage of users that intend to buy the test brand.

Additionally, marketers can measure the change in brand perceptions as a result of exposure to the interactive ad campaign.

Again, to measure any or all of these factors, marketers would employ the control/exposed methodology summarised above. To determine those that fall in the exposed group, a javascript tag is placed on the ad and this piece of code will drop a cookie (a file that saves information to help website services) on the user’s browser. Those users who do not have this cookie on their browser will be placed in the control group, indicating that they have not been exposed to the ad in question. Individuals in both groups will be recruited to partake in a survey which asks a variety of questions used to get at the above metrics. Finally, answers to the questions by the exposed group are compared to those of the control group and any significant differences are attributed to the interactive ad campaign.

Let’s engage those consumers!

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The first of these studies carried out in 2006 in the small car market, targeted ABC1C2 women with children under the age of 16. This audience was selected because of their considerable influence over household spending makes them particularly important to a wide range of advertisers. The topline results showed that communications drove 15% of total brand engagement, and of this, that online advertising drove more brand engagement than any other individual media channel - delivering 39% of the marketing communications effect on brand engagement. This is a really impressive share for online and further convinced us to test different categories as results will invariably differ depending on many different factors related to the type of sector that the brands fall into.

IAB Brand Engagement

TO BE CONTINUED OVERLEAF...!

Since 2006 the IAB has appointed Carat Insight, now known as ævolve, to examine the effectiveness of online at driving brand engagement, alongside other media, as well as wider influences such as ownership, reading reviews, heritage or word of mouth. The intention was to demonstrate the role that online advertising can play in client’s marketing communications strategies, beyond the click-through, and that online advertising can very successfully drive brand engagement.

These studies set out to investigate people’s attitudes towards products within the categories tested, and how these attitudes inter-relate to deliver brand engagement, and we so far have results for the automotive, haircare and soft drinks categories. The research in each study used the same 3 components for the methodology and consisted of qualitative, quantitative and multivariate modelling to test brand engagement.

Automotive

42


We carried out the third study in the soft drinks sector and researched 1,000 ABC1 men aged 20-45, with no children and all in full time employment. Topline results in this sector found that, across 4 brands, on average a soft drink brand’s communications increase brand engagement by 5%. Of all the communications channels, internet advertising delivered 24% of the overall marketing communication effect on brand engagement. We also found that online advertising for soft drinks is three times as effective per £8.5 of spend as the all media average. Overall these studies demonstrate how online can be really influential in driving the level of engagement that people have with brands. It is particularly interesting to see this in the two FMCG categories considering how much room for growth there still is in this sector for really great branding campaigns. We hope that all three studies have helped to educate advertisers on using online display advertising as a branding medium as well as a direct response tool.

The second study researched the shampoo and conditioner category – 1,000 women ABC1C2 and aged 20-60 were questioned. All had to have agreed with 4 out of a possible 7 statements presented to them, such as ‘I only buy exotic bath products’, ‘I only buy the best makes/labels in life’ and ‘I regularly visit a beauty salon’. Therefore, they were a sample of women who felt that personal grooming was very important to them. This time around we found that online advertising and webpages combined delivered 35% of the marketing

communications effect on brand engagement. Further to this, online advertising was 2.4 times more effective than its share of spend suggested. In addition, women seeing a brand’s online ads are 3.5 times more likely to see its webpage and so there is a strong correlation here in this particular category. The internet was uniquely able to combine brand advertising messages that could readily lead women (who were a highly involved audience in this sector) to personally relevant content that helped them to make decisions about their hair products.

Haircare

Soft drinks

NEXT

INTEGRATION WITH OTHER MEDIA!

Integration with other media

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Chapter Ten Guide To Online Display Advertising

Television

Let’s look at currently the biggest piece of the media buy, television. Television is seen in the eyes of some digital agencies as their evil twin. This should not be the case. Online advertising spend in the UK is on track to surpass TV spend by 2009. The two media should complement each other, rather than compete for media space.

Perhaps the most obvious way to integrate offline and online messaging is by co-opting television footage for use on the internet. It’s been done since the beginning of online video advertising, with innovation replaced by imitation of television footage.

Anant Joshi, Director, Partnerships and Sales Engineering, Eyeblaster

IAB Presents:

What media should be connected together?

In the internet advertising industry we tend to forget that comprehensive ad campaigns entail other media as well, with digital being one piece of the pie. To assume that digital advertising happens in a vacuum is to overlook its powerful unique aspect: it is well suited for integrating multichannel campaigns.

Integration with other media

AAAAGGRRHH!

WRITTEN BY

However, there is more to online video advertising than simply repurposing television campaigns, and online messaging should leverage the capabilities of the medium while remaining consistent to the larger campaign.

From a marketer’s point of view, the best channel is the one that is most effective at reaching the right audience at the right time. Advancements in the ability to check the performance of all media channels in one place will help make those decisions easier and quicker. Let’s take the below graph as an example.

In this example, you can see the monthly split by campaign length for each media channel. Plotting the line that shows the advertiser’s sales/units sold or services rendered you can graphically see the impact of each channel’s campaign and how they interplay. By drilling into more information on how each channel has impacted overall spend and looking at overall website conversions, the agency or advertiser can clearly see which media channel is the most effective. With the current convergence of media, these processes still need to be ironed out before that can be shown. However, when we see IPTV through set-top boxes (non-browser based) hitting the mainstream, together with data access in real time, this will be a far easier process.

TV and Online can also collaborate for better targeting of ads. TV advertising has progressed with targeting capabilities, such as the introduction of Addressable TV advertising. The ability to digitally insert targeted ad placement in TV broadcasting is refreshing and holds potential.

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No more intrusive advertising messages...

45

We can foresee a situation when searching for product information or engaging with video online will result in more relevant ads.

Some IPTV innovators already let viewers decide if they want to watch all ads upfront or later during the show. The next logical step is to let consumers specify their preference for ad content, for example, by vertical industry. The technology is simple but the implication of targeting on consumer experience can be significant.

Search and display

Within online itself, the industry sees a separation between the main media channels. Now it is possible to connect them together and see the successful aspects of each one in conjunction. If search and display are tracked together, then the advertiser and agency can really understand their consumers’ path to conversion.

For example, a user engages with an expandable ad for the first time. Then three days later they use a search engine to look for the product name they remembered seeing on the expandable ad. They click on the PPC sponsorship link but do not go through to purchase. Finally, on day eight they convert via a polite ad on a different publisher making a purchase on the advertiser’s website.

Traditionally, the conversion would only be awarded to the last ad or keyword seen. But when the whole path is analysed, we see the value of each touch point along the path. The trends of each of the channels and publishers that drive the conversions can be shown, and their individual media attribution values calculated – eventually enabling marketers to better plan their budgets across search and display in order to achieve the best return on investment. However, with the multitude of search engines and bid management tools in use, a technology solution is still required to enable wide-scale search and display integration.

In-stream, in-game and mobile

Emerging channels include in-stream, in-game and mobile. In-stream advertising is advertising placed around the flow of a publisher’s video content. There is high growth amongst specialised video content providers assisting publishers in getting started with video content and related advertising.

In-game advertising is placed in either casual games, gaming consoles or PC-based games. In-game ads enjoy extremely high performance and address a much targeted audience.

Advertising on mobile devices, today mostly WAP-based, is fast becoming a popular way to increase a campaign reach. These emerging channels should be seriously considered as part of the media mix to the extent that they promote the campaign strategy.

Consistent analytics can show the ROI in the different channels, as well as any overlap and/or synergy.

Extending creative messaging

Advertisers have employed the enhanced interactive capabilities of digital to extend the overall creative messaging of their campaign. By complementing the messaging that appears on television, in print and throughout other traditional media with the strategic engagement opportunities afforded by digital, brands can build on the cumulative effect of their campaign. Making full use of all your channels may mean expanding your concept in accordance with these channels’ capabilities. A recent example is a campaign for a mobile phone manufacturer, highlighting the phone’s photo capabilities.

The advertisers created a multi-stage competition where people took photos with their mobile phones, then uploaded and submitted them for a competition through the internet. This campaign encompassed multiple channels and used each one for a specific piece of the competition, driving traffic and encouraging their audience to take advantage of the wide technological options available to them. The great thing about digital is its ability to analyse it all together in a cohesive, campaign report.

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No more intrusive advertising messages...

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NEXT

THE IMPACT OF THE

DIGITAL FUTURE

NOOOO..HELP ME! SAVE ME!

Summary

Internet advertising offers many ways to complement offline advertising or extend brand messaging. With creative innovations appearing every day, there’s always an opportunity to set a precedent in integrating multichannel campaigns. There are a few caveats to consider:

• Begin with a measurable end in mind. Especially in the digital world.

• Mind the saturation point. Even the most creative concepts run the risk of oversaturation. Use digital to complement your greater campaign, but don’t overdo it.

• Avoid duplication. Every medium has its own strengths and weaknesses but by and large, there is audience overlap between them. Many of the same viewers who see a TV ad will see the same brand online. Take advantage of the unique properties to complement other channels, but don’t copy the same spot for different media.

In this chapter, we’ve considered many possibilities for multichannel campaigns. However advertisers utilise digital, it should be led by the strategy underlined by the advertisers KPI’s. By integrating and connecting the data of these channels together you can truly realise the potential of a fully integrated cross channel campaign.

The impact of the digital future

This is a critical time for the advertising industry. We’ve seen enormous changes in the market, infrastructure and audiences over the last decade and the rate of change isn’t going to let up. What’s the impact of these changes and what do they mean to your business, now and in the future?

Chapter Eleven

Advancement of technology has meant that behaviours are being expressed in different forms but the motivations are the same. The internet is merely another platform on which these behaviours are exhibited. Our online world is increasingly mimicking the offline one. Think post office – think Hotmail, think social clubs – think social networks, think shops – think Amazon and think newsagent – think newsfeeds

Below we discuss a number changes to consumer behaviour that relate specifically to display.


Written by

IAB Presents:

48

Mobile display

Alex Marks, UK Head of Marketing, Microsoft Advertising

Advertising on mobile is becoming a major business with new display advertising solutions. These allow advertisers to connect with their target audiences at home, at work and on-the-go across multiple platforms, devices and geographies, meeting increased demands for new premium ad inventory.

Mobile is likely to be the main access point in the future along with foldable screens, so it will be present in most people’s pockets. Unlike adults, teens are quite comfortable reading multiple screens and information online – they will take this behaviour with them and embrace e-Readers.

There are major challenges to overcome in the near future however, primarily costs have to come down for both the consumer and marketers. Secondly, display on mobile is likely to have even more emphasis on branding than just click-through. This inherently brings its own challenges such as measurement and marketers understanding the power of online brand building.

As connection speeds and download times improve, more and more display advertising will be video-based offering advertisers compelling new opportunities to engage and interact with their audience. Already video based adverts are achieving excellent results as they grab attention quickly and offer a better user experience.

The evolution of video in display advertising is set to happen extremely quickly now that marketers are more comfortable with using video online. Video will become more interactive and display ads could become a method of delivering ad funded content to consumers.

A specific area for improvement in video will include reporting and measurement – do we measure when a video starts, the amount of time watched, or in the case of interactive video, where a person clicks and when? These are all questions the industry is asking and creating solutions to.

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Video

There is also a great opportunity to reach consumers via social networks, provided it is done courteously and in a non-intrusive way. Research has shown that consumers are receptive to display advertising and will forward, share and talk about brands that are relevant to them with their friends.

This will continue to evolve and develop as the market expands. We are seeing an increasing acceptance and indeed demand for both branded content and widgets/gadgets over straightforward advertising. Subscription seems to work when you have a high quality, and highly demanded product with few alternatives.

Social networks and social media on regular sites is a relatively unexplored area for advertisers, yet it is this content that internet users crave and use. The social aspect of the internet is integral to consumers and in the future it will have to be integral to marketing plans too.

Networks, ad servers and exchanges are working wonders for display advertising’s reach and this is only set to continue. Internet users don’t browse a select few websites within a network, and your advertising doesn’t have to be restricted.

Over the next few years we will see new ways for you to deliver display advertising to thousands of websites but with absolute control for marketers. Thanks to the internet, you will be able to protect your brand while making the most of vast networks and of course, social media.

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Extreme reach

Inside the lair of inappropriate interruption!

51

Display advertising’s future is brighter than ever and hopefully this handbook has inspired you to use the format in new and exciting ways throughout 2008 – 2009.

To leave you, we decided to give you three top tips to think about when running your display campaigns for the future:

1. Invest in your brand online. Brand is about experience, reference, and visibility. The internet is not just a place for response. It is an experiential medium as never before and those who do not use its full range of abilities to build their brands will wither.

2. Content is always king. UGC may not be as popular amongst advertisers but remember the audiences that You’ve Been Framed commanded. People are still fond of looking at other people!

3. Don’t be afraid to let the consumer take control. Business models will have to adapt and be flexible. If you remain rigid you will fail. Explore new ways to build, distribute and monetise content and let the consumer guide you.

“UGC may not be as popular amongst advertisers but remember the audiences that You’ve Been Framed commanded.”

AAARRGHH!

ENGAGE!

Ad Serving - Delivery of online

adverts to an end user’s computer

by an ad management system. The

system allows different online adverts

to be served in order to target

different audience groups and can

serve adverts across multiple sites.

Ad Technology providers each have

their own proprietary models for this.

Affiliate Marketing - An affiliate

(a web site owner or publisher),

displays an advertisement (such

as a banner or link) on its site for a

merchant (the brand or advertiser).

If a consumer visiting the affiliate’s

site clicks on this advertisement

and goes onto perform a specified

action (usually a purchase) on an

advertisers site then the affiliate

receives a commission.

Bandwidth - The transmission

rate of a communication line- usually

measured in Kilobytes per second

(Kbps). This relates to the amount of

data that can be carried per second

by your internet connection. See also

Broadband.

Banner - A long, horizontal,

online advert usually found running

across the top of a page in a fixed

placement. See also Universal

Advertising Package, embedded

formats.

Behavioural Targeting - A form of online marketing that uses advertising technology to target web users based on their previous behaviour. Advertising creative and content can be tailored to be of more relevance to a particular user by capturing their previous decision making behaviour (eg: filling out preferences or visiting certain areas of a site frequently) and looking for patterns.

Blog - An online space regularly updated presenting the opinions or activities of one or a group of individuals and displaying in chronological order.

Buffering - When a streaming media player saves portions of file until there is enough information for the file to begin playing.

Click-through - When a user interacts with an advertisement and clicks through to the advertiser’s website.

CTR (click-through rate) - Frequency of Click-throughs as a percentage of impressions served. Used as a measure of advertising effectiveness. See also impression, click-through.

Contextual advertising - Advertising that is targeted to the content on the Web page being viewed by a user at that specific time.

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Glossary

Conversion rate - Measure of success of an online ad when compared to the click-through rate. What defines a ‘conversion’ depends on the marketing objective eg: it can be defined as a sale or request to receive more information…etc

CPA (1-Cost per Action) - A pricing model that only charges advertising on an action being conducted eg. a sale or a form being filled in.

CPA (2-Cost per Acquisition) - Cost to acquire a new customer.

CPC (Cost per Click) - The amount paid by an advertiser for a click on their sponsored search listing. See also PPC.

CPM (Cost per Mille) - Also known as Cost per Thousand. Online advertising can be purchased on the basis of what it costs to show the ad to one thousand viewers (CPM). It is used in marketing as a benchmark to calculate the relative cost of an advertising campaign or an ad message in a given medium. Rather than an absolute cost, CPM estimates the cost per 1000 views of the ad. (Wikipedia definition).

Embedded format - Advertising formats that are displayed in set spaces on a publisher’s page.

Expandable banner/skyscraper - Fixed online advertising placements that expand over the page in the response to user action eg: mouseover. See also Rich Media.

Flash - Web design software that creates animation and interactive elements which are quick to download.

Flash impression - The total number of requests made for pages holding flash-based content by users of that site in the period being measured. (ABC Electronic jargon buster definition).

Impression - The metric used to measure views of a webpage and its elements- including the advertising embedded within it. Ad Impressions are how most online advertising is sold and the cost is quoted in terms of the cost per thousand impressions (CPM).

Interruptive formats - Online advertising formats that appear on users’ screens on top of web content (and sometimes before web page appears) and range from static, one-page splash screens to full-motion animated advertisements.

Interstitial Ads - Which appear between two content pages. Also known as splash pages and transition ads.

Let’s use our powerful Rich Media tools!

53

MPU (Multiple Purpose Units, although interpretations may vary) - A square online advert

usually found embedded in a web

page in a fixed placement. Called

‘multiple purpose’ as it is a flexible

shaped blank ‘canvas’ in which you

can serve flat or more interactive

content as desired. See also

Rich Media, Universal Advertising

Package.

Overlay - Online advertising

content that appears over the top of

the webpage. See also Rich Media.

Pre-roll - The name given to the

adverts shown before, or whilst an

online video is loading. There can

be more than one and although

they all vary in length, they average

21seconds in duration.

Rich Media - is the collective

name for online advertising formats

that use advanced technology to

harness broadband to build brands.

It uses interactive and audio-visual

elements to give richer content and a

richer experience for the user when

interacting with the advert. See also

Interstitial, Superstitial, Overlay and

Rich Media Guidelines.

Rich Media Guidelines - Design

guidelines produced by the IAB

for effective use of Rich Media

technologies in all forms of internet

advertising. They aim to protect

user experience by keeping them

in control of the experience eg:

encouraging clearly labelled close,

sound and video buttons.

Sales House - An organisation

which sells advertising on behalf

of other media owners. These

sales houses typically retain a

percentage of the revenue they

sell in exchange for their services.

These organisations may combine

a number of websites together and

sell them as different packages to

advertisers.

Skyscraper - A long, vertical,

online advert usually found running

down the side of a page in a fixed

placement. See also Universal

Advertising Package.

Sponsorship - Advertiser

sponsorships of targeted content

areas (e.g. entire website, site area

or an event) often for promotional

purposes.

Streaming media - Compressed

audio/video which plays and

downloads at the same time. The

user does not have to wait for the

whole file to download before it

starts playing.

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Glossary

Superstitials - A form of rich media advertising which allows a TV-like experience on the web. It is fully pre-cached before playing. See also Rich Media, Cache.

Tenancy - The ‘renting’ out of a section of a website by another brand who pays commission to this media owner for any revenue generated from this space. EG: dating services inside portals or bookstores inside online newspapers.

Universal Advertising Package - A set of online advertising formats that are standardised placements as defined by the IAB. See also banner, skyscraper, button, MPU and embedded formats.

Unique users - Number of different individuals who visit a site within a specific time period.

User generated content - Online content created by website users rather than media owners or publishers - either through reviews, blogging, podcasting or posting comments, pictures or video clips. Sites that encourage user generated content include MySpace, YouTube, Wikipedia and Flickr. See also blog, podcast.

Web 2.0 - The term Web 2.0 - with its knowing nod to upgraded computer applications - describes the next generation of online use. Web 2.0 identifies the consumer as a major contributor in the evolution of the internet into a two-way medium.

Let’s use our powerful Rich Media tools!

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Back to your lair of inappropriate interruption!

Designed byPeter Gonzalezhbm communicationswww. hbmcommunications.com

Internet Advertising Bureau14 Macklin Street, London

WC2B 5NFTEL: +44 (0)20 7050 6969

Internet Marketing Handbook Series

Internet Marketing Handbook Series The role of online display advertising and its history Guide To...

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