Banner_Advertising by Andrew Esipov

Banner Advertising

WORKBOOK

Banner Advertising

Table of Contents Introduction - Make that money �� 3 Section 1: Design Features ��3-16 A. What Entails a “Good” Ad? 1. Popular Banner Sizes 2. File Size B. Animation C. Visual Images, Features and Layout Styles D. Your Ad’s Message Section 2: The Aftermath �� 17-19 A.Target audience and selecting a site B. Placement of your ad Section 3: Wrapping it up �� 19-21 A. Your overall Advertising Strategy B. Your Budget C. Additional popular resources to help you design your ad Section 4: A Final Word and Exercise Answers �� 21-23 A. Banner Ad #1 B. Banner Ad #2 C. Banner Ad #3 D. Banner Ad #4

Introduction Make That Money Creating a banner advertisement is simple; all you need to have is basic computer knowledge, our expert design advice—and presto—your ad is at home makin’ that money for you, while you’re out perusing the city, or hopping a jet plane to Puerto Rico…. Designing a banner advertisement is truly a form of art. It takes practice and time to learn the trade. With millions of banner ads on the Internet, it is important for you to know effective, design techniques so that your advertisement will stand out, as it takes less than one second for a web-surfer to be engaged, or disengaged with your ad. Today, we are here to pave your path to wealth and financial success. We will show and teach you how to create a top-notch banner advertisement, so you, like millions today, can make easy money on the Internet (*Note: I will be guiding you through various brainstorming exercises. Brainstorming is extremely important in order to be successful. Writing and thinking of various, numerous design options will help your brain “juices” to flow. The idea here is for you to learn the dynamics of design, see and analyze visual examples, and understand and transfer that information to use it in creating your own banner ad.)

Section 1: Design Features A. What Entails A “Good” Ad? On the next page and PowerPoint presentation are four examples of banner advertisements. Two ads are effective and two are not. Please take a few moments to look at the ads and make your decision. (It may be useful to think of which ad would interest you as a web-surfer, or which one you would want to click on.) Write your reasoning(s) in the space provided, and be sure to specifically describe which elements were or were not effective, as this input will be useful at the end of the presentation.

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Banner Advertisements… They do the Work so You Don’t Have to

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Banner Ad #1:

(the left panel obtains the phrase “Need Links? Buy Links” in motion) http://www.text-link-ads.com/images/text_link_ads_C_468x60.gif

Banner Ad #2:

http://www.clientwell.com/blog/images/first_banner.gif

Banner Ad #3:

http://www.pro-talk.com/images/ad_good.gif

Banner Ad #4:

(the center of the ads obtains the phrase“We Make…completeWidget Solutions”in motion) http://www.pro-talk.com/images/ad_bad.gif ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

SIZE OF YOUR BANNER AND BANNER FILE 1. Popular Banner Sizes a. The most common banner size is (468 x 60) pixels

b. “The Half Banner:” (234 x 60) pixels

c. A large banner size: (728 x 90) pixels

d. The 125 x 125 Square Button

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Though these four ads may appear to be similar, they are actually extremely different in their design and how effective they are. By the end of this presentation, you will be able to tell me which ads are successful and which are not. We will furthermore discuss why, referencing the design techniques that were taught. The rest of this seminar focuses on the secrets of banner advertisement design. We have researched and collaborated expert, online marketing advice for you. Don’t worry, you can thank us later!

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e. The 120 x 240 Vertical Banner

2. File Size a. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! If your file size is too big, your ad will take too long to load. Most people will get frustrated and will scroll down the web page, leaving your ad behind, or will become annoyed and click out of the page. (There goes your money, and your business!) b. Your file should be under 12 KB (15 KB at most)! And really, if you can keep your ad under 10 KB you will receive better banner exchange results. Here’s how to keep your file small: • Limit your number of colors (Paint Shop Pro software can assist you in this.) • Save your banner as an animated GIF file • Keep animation simple; use one or two movements. On the PowerPoint is an example of an ad that uses one constant motion that is effective in drawing attention, but does not overwhelm the viewer: http://www.webpencil.com/images/banners/beach_banner_468.gif • Use a drawing or a chart; this is a smart tactic to incorporate color without overloading the file size

B. Animation 1. The most effective banner advertisements are animated 2. Why are animated ads the best? a. They cause attraction, which increases the likelihood that the viewer will register, and remember your ad b. They increase your adâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and response rate c. They facilitate e-commerce and may give you immediate revenues d. They have a 34% higher recall rate than basic gif banner ads do (Animation ads induce the branding effect on peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds.) e. Web-surfers may spend up to five minutes on an animated banner (in comparison to 30 seconds, or a minute on a static or flash ad) 3. Types of animated ads (displayed on the PowerPoint): Please write down descriptions (and your personal reactions) of these various and diverse animation designs, as you will want to remember which ones you found to be the most engaging. a. Roll animation http://www.bannermakerpro.com/images/sampleroll.gif ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ b. Crush animation http://www.bannermakerpro.com/images/samplecrush.gif ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ c. Pixelate animation http://www.bannermakerpro.com/images/samplepixelate.gif ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

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VISUAL ELEMENTS/APPEARANCE OF THE AD

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d. Slide Show animation http://www.bannermakerpro.com/images/sampleslideshow.gif ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ e. Slide animation http://www.bannermakerpro.com/images/sample-slide.gif ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ f. “Add a Letter” animation http://www.bannermakerpro.com/images/sample-addaletter.gif ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ g. Exploding banner http://www.bannermakerpro.com/images/sample-explode.gif ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ h. It is important to note that the “Slide Show” animation design is the most common on the Internet today. i. These animation designs were provided by “Banner Maker Pro,” a software to help advertiser’s create animated ads. They can all be produced in a one-stepprocess. If you are interested in assistance when creating your animation(s), visit the web site: http://www.bannermakerpro.com/samplebanners.html 4. How to (Effectively) Create an Animated Banner:

a. Use rich media. Rich media banners have sound, are animated and usually obtain various special effects. Most have a “built-in-order area,” expandable order forms, and more advanced secure server technology (If you are going to use rich media, you may want to check out “Enliven,” which is one of the leading rich media banner creators to help assist you in your design.) On the PowerPoint is an example of an engaging rich media banner: http://www.georgeglenparker.com/web-services.html

C. Visual Images, Features and Layout Styles 1. Be selective when choosing your images. You don’t want too many or too few. An inexpensive option when picking out your images is to use royalty free stock photography. These images are popular, attention-grabbing and are found all over the Internet (the image prices range from one dollar to 15 dollars.) 2. Contrast features in your design layout. Visual elements that are contrasted catch the eye’s attention. You must contrast your ad’s background colors, text message, photograph and/or drawing and animated features with one another. One of the best ways to achieve contrast is to use diverse font sizes, bolds and colors. Below is an example of a (static) banner advertisement that uses contrast:

http://www.ss-banners.com/domainbank/floatsinblue.jpg This ad uses different colors, fonts and applies bolds to create a contrast. It is successful in grabbing your attention. 3. Aim to use only two font styles. If you find yourself wanting or needing to use more, then make sure you pick from different font families. The three, main font families used in advertising are Sans Serif, Serif, and Decorative. a. Sans Serif fonts are used in headlines or captions. An example font of this family: ◊ ◊ ◊

◊ b. Serif fonts are used in the body of the text because they are relatively easy to read. An example font of this family:

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b. Remember, less is more. Use animation in moderation. For example, I ’ m sure you have seen banner ads that shake and read “YOU ARE THE WINNER!” Avoid this design technique. As you know from experience, these ads are ineffective and annoying. On the PowerPoint is an example of an irritating, shaking banner ad design that you should avoid: http://www.cracked.com/jp/ads05.gif

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c. Decorative fonts are usually larger and are used in headlines, logos, or for SMALL amounts of text. Do not use a decorative font in a medium to large sized text; it would be very hard to read. An example font of this family:

4. Underline your text with blue. You will achieve a higher response and click through ratio. By underlining your text in this manner, viewers will know that your text is a link. 5. Add a blue border to your banner. This will influence more people to click onto the entire banner and increase your response rates. 6. Add “fake” elements such as, fake scroll bars, text links, selection boxes, text boxes, submit buttons, etc. Placing these elements in your ad induces people to think that they are actually clicking on a real button or link to go to different web site (when in fact, it will take them directly to yours). ◊ ◊ a. To create fake features, use the “Print Screen” button on your computer keyboard to copy images for your ad. ◊ ◊ b. Two examples of advertisements with “fake” features: ◊

http://c13.zedo.com/OzoDB/y/c/263184/V1/fall_leaves_300x250.gif

◊ a. Place your logo (or web site address if you choose, you should do one or the two) in a small section of the banner. It should not be placed near, or be confused with your main “benefit” headline. ◊ ◊ b. Use Helvetica font for your logo. It has a strong brand identity. This particular typeface has been proven to be an effective element of corporate branding and marketing strategies. Corporations such as 3M, Microsoft, and American Airlines use Helvetica font in their logos due to its familiar, straightforward (“no-nonsense”) and bold appearance. ◊ ◊ c. An example of an advertisement that places their company (Omniture) logo in the corner:

http://www.omniture.com/img/banners/3.26.07_750x100_eight_critical_guide.jpg

D. Your Ad’s Message

1. Your message should be concise and to the point. You have less than a second to catch a web-surfer’s attention. He or she must know in a split-second what your entire ad is about and/or offering. Below is an example of a short, direct message:

http://go-utah.com/images/g-advertising-bannerTownCountry.jpg As you can see, it literally takes one glance to know what this ad is promoting. You immediately understand that the realtor company is suggesting “Bear Lake” as a place to vacation, or live. This message is also easy to remember. At all costs, avoid a wordy ad message. 2. Use words that require action from the user, such as “click here,” “sign up now,” or “enter.” They will increase your CTR and banner ad’s effectiveness by 2030%. Below is an example of an ad that obtains the active word phrase, “click here:”

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7. Lastly, you must add your company’s logo! It will help your ad stand out, distinguishing it from others, and will also induce public awareness about your company (which in turn, makes your banner ad easier to remember).

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http://go-utah.com/UT/images/ads/WesternSpiritBanner.gif 3. Intrigue your viewers. Use creativity. Below and on the PowerPoint is an example of a creative ad:

(Keep in mind that this is an animated banner advertisement. The needle moves to the man’s head as“click me”and“click over here”phrases appear on the ad. Their company logo, comedy.com, also appears on the corner of the ad). http://wilsonweb.com/wmt5/images/comedy-injection.gif An advertisement like this will attract attention. It is out of the “norm,” and will therefore draw people to look at it and perhaps click on it. Ads that shock, seduce, or suggest almost always are successful. 4. Apply a visual metaphor. The key here is to connect your main message with the visual elements of your ad. This technique is extremely effective, because people respond and pay attention to visuals more than the text content. ◊ a. Here’s an exercise: Visual metaphors suggest an analogy, or similarity between your message and object. Pick one service or product that your company is offering, and try to come up with a visual metaphor for your banner advertisement. Below and presented on the PowerPoint is an example to guide you:

http://wilsonweb.com/wmt5/images/ragingbull.gif This ad shows an investor riding a Wall Street sign, as if it was a mechanical bull. The ad is extremely clever and quickly conveys the message that investor’s may want to go to their company for financial guidance, as they run the risk of being “tossed,” or “thrown out of,” the competitive, successful market.

________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

Hopefully you have come up with one, or two visual metaphors. If not, you will by the end of this week. Just take the time to brainstorm and ask yourselves the questions listed above. It will come to you! 5. Emphasize the benefits, not features of your product or service. Your ad should focus on the user’s chance to receive a special offer, promotion, etc. Words such as “free,” “proven,” and “secret” can be used to induce this effect. Below is an ad that focuses on promoting their service/product’s benefits:

http://images.ientrymail.com/clients/blend/FirstData-750x100.gif This ad attracts its viewers by promoting a free carrying case, extra battery and vehicle charger; they are products that will benefit the user. 6. Use seven words or less. By using less words, you can increase the size of and darken your font, which will strengthen the impact of your message.

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b. Now continuing the exercise: take a few minutes to brainstorm a visual metaphor for your banner advertisement. A few questions to ask yourself are: What am I trying to communicate? What actions or objects relate, or have something in common, with my concept? If I couldn’t use any words, how would I get the message across?

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a. An example of a powerful message under seven words: “Fast, reliable plumbing pairs. Guaranteed.” b. A visual ad example of a seven word message:

https://adwords.google.com/select/images/samples/250x250.gif “Make your garden beautiful,” is an effective ad message because it is desiring, appealing, and most importantly short. The “Under Seven Rule” is a good guideline to go by. c. Please take a moment to brainstorm clever, persuasive messages that are in seven words or less: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 7. Use power words, such as: free, unbelievable, incredible, affordable, heartwarming, etc. These words (and words that are similar) are attractive to people. A product and/or service that is described in these terms will be more likely read, than one that is described in bland, or neutral words. Please take a few moments to think of at least five other “power” words:

8. Your headline should be the same as your entry page’s. This is key to having a successful banner ad. This technique will allow the viewer to see the identical headline (on your entry page) that intrigued them in the first place, and will therefore spark their interest more to check out your product or service. 9. FREE is the best word to use. People, especially of our era, are constantly interested in what they can do, or receive without paying money or doing work. Therefore, “free” is an extremely effective word to use to attract people to your advertisement. Make sure you let viewers know what they will be receiving for free. Also, you may want to place it in your headline; this tactic has been known to drastically increase response rates.

a. Example #1:

b. Example #2:

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10. Ask a question. Placing a question on your banner ad will help engage the viewer and increase your CTR. a. An example:

As you can see on the PowerPoint slide, this question is followed by another one, and then answered with what they are offering. Questions are an effective way to draw people to your ad. Probing a viewer with a question induces them to think and question whether they are currently experiencing that problem, or have been thinking of purchasing a product or service that will help them in the particular area. b. Exercise: Pick a product and/or service that your company is selling, and brainstorm questions that would intrigue a potential customer: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 11. Lastly, advertise the specific product and/or service you are offering. Do not advertise your entire web site. Below is an example:

The website, google.com, is featuring its product â&#x20AC;&#x153;Google AdSense,â&#x20AC;? and not its entire web site.

TARGET AUDIENCE, SUITABLE SITE, AND AD PLACEMENT A. Target audience and selecting a site 1. Once you have your ad designed, you need to think of who you’re selling to, which sounds obvious, but is also very important. For example, if you’re trying to sell golf clubs you would want to target golf players. However, it can be more complex than that, for example, if you’re selling cookware; now you have a broader audience and would need to run trial and error experiments to find which site is best targets your audience (which is my next point). 2. Choosing a winning web site: a. Going back to my golf club example, you would need to find a site that would target golf players. A method of finding a suitable site for your ad is to use a search engine and make a list of web sites that (for the sake of this example) relate to tips on golf, golf courses, golf vacation spots, etc. Once you have made your list and check out each site, you may want to consider looking at their “links” section to find other web sites that are related to your product. b. Find the amount of traffic a web site receives. The best way to achieve this is to directly ask the webmaster for traffic stats and examples of screenshots for validity. c. Note that your ad should be on a relevant web site, whether it is “popular” or not. Relevancy is key in marketing your ad.

B. Placement of your ad 1. Where you place your ad will have a strong, direct effect on how successful your ad is, and how much revenue you receive. 2. Place your ad above the fold of the page. This is the spot that will receive maximum exposure. The following is an example of an ad that is placed above the fold, by the company Microsoft:

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Section 2: The Aftermath

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As you can see, Microsoft’s banner ad promoting their service “People Ready” is immediately seen when you look at the page. 3. Link your banner ad to the area of your website that is directly related to the product or service you’re advertising. a. For example, daVinci Institute is offering customers a membership for only $150 if they click on their ad shown below:

b. When you click on this ad, this web page immediately pops up and directly presents information specifically on memberships:

Section 3: Wrapping it up STRATEGIES AND POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND A. Your overall Advertising Strategy 1. Your ad should be a part of your entire advertising strategy. 2. Your overall marketing campaign will be most effective and successful if every feature of it is interrelated. Your ad should support and reinforce your direct mail campaigns and unite your email marketing. 3. Compare the different forms of advertisements youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re using. It is important to know whether your banner ad(s), or email newsletter sponsorship campaign is bringing you more sales/revenue. 4. Develop a follow-through mechanism when you are offering a special promotion, or soliciting an action from the viewer. One way to achieve this is to create a special page that describes what you are offering or promoting in detail. a. An example of an ad featuring a special promotion (shown previously in the workbook):

http://images.ientrymail.com/clients/blend/FirstData-750x100.gif

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By linking your ad directly to the area of your page where your product/service is related, it will decrease the amount of time a viewer will have to spend searching for it and furthermore, will increase the chances of a person buying your product/service.

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b. An example of a special page that provides details on this promotion:

The (figure 4i) ad immediately takes the user to a page that will directly help them receive this offer; it also provides all the details and information about the offer, incase the viewer needs to return to the page at a later time. 5. Test, test, test your banner ads. Before you finalize your campaign, you need to be sure that your ad is effective in bringing you more money than you are spending. Experiment with the placement, message, visual design and site that you place your ad on. You want to be sure that you are designing the best ad you can. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be satisfied with the first design you come up with (hence, the point of our brainstorming exercises). 6. Change your banner ad frequently. Studies have shown that banner ads start to lose their effectiveness after the third time that they are seen. If you find that people have not clicked on your ad in a reasonable amount of time, they never will and you should look to change the ad.

B. Your Budget 1. Set your budget before you start your campaign. Having a pre-planned budget will come in handy when deciding whether or not a fee a site is charging is too high or not. 2. Understand how your fee is being charged. For example, are you being charged on a periodic basis, by CMP, or by PPCT? It is imperative to know exactly how you are being charged.

1. http://www.animationline.com

2. www.zyris.com

3. www.quickbanner.com

4. www.jasc.com

Section 4: A Final Word and Exercise Answers PICK AND CHOOSE, PERSONALIZE YOUR AD During this presentation, you have learned and been given numerous design techniques to apply to your banner advertisement. Do not be overwhelmed. You obviously can not use all of them. Use your personality and creativity to make your ad unique and individualized. Take the various design techniques that you have learned here and combine them in different ways (for example, create one ad that has rich media, a contrasted layout and a concise and clever message, and another ad that is static and includes fake elements, a contrasted background and the active phrase â&#x20AC;&#x153;click hereâ&#x20AC;?). See what works for you, and make sure to repeatedly test your ads on the Internet. It may also be useful to research sample banner advertisements online.

ANSWERS/ANALYSIS TO INITIAL EXERCISE Now we return to where we started. Flip back to the beginning of the workbook and look what banner ads you chose as effective and ineffective. Do you still agree with your analysis? Here are the answers:

A. Banner Advertisement #1

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C. Additional popular resources to help you design your ad:

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1. Answer: Effective 2. It’s key, successful features: a. Animated using simple movements b. Asks a question(s) c. Uses the active phrase, “find out more” d. Contrasted (color) layout

B. Banner Advertisement #2

1. Answer: Ineffective

2. Reasons for why this ad fails: a. The message is extremely poor; it does not promote the company’s product or service, offer any benefits and is not engaging or persuasive. b. Displays no visual images or elements (which is imperative if you’re not going to create an animated banner). c. Poor color design and contrasted layout

C. Banner Advertisement #3:

1. Answer: Effective

2. It’s key, successful features: a. Its contrasted layout it has by contrasting color and font type b. Logo on the (corner) left side of the banner

d. The active word phrase, “click here.” e. A concise, clever message that is under seven words

D. Banner Advertisement #4

1. Answer: Ineffective

2. Reasons why this ad fails: a. It’s message, “We Make. . . Widget Solutions,” is not persuasive, does not offer it’s product/service and does not emphasize any product benefits (note, if you don’t use an active phrase in your ad it is extremely important to engage your viewer with a question, a short, persuasive message, etc.) b. The animation incorporated into the ad’s message is designed poorly. The message moves too slow and is not engaging.

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c. An appropriate amount of images