Ads that work well within pages

Return to A skyscraper misadventure

An example of ads and page working very well together is this second figure:

People coming to this page will be from several demographics but will all have a very specific mindset, what NextStage recognizes as a Rich Persona. The entire page is meant to bypass intellectual appeals and go straight for the emotions.

The topmost ad, "Rescue Stories," is in visual conjunction with "Send an E-card and Spread the Word." The "$1 Shipping" is in visual conjunction with "Paw Print Store". "Fund Food for Animals" with "Last Day! Free Hope…."

As a design to achieve a specific goal, it doesn't get much better than this. People wanting to know how to design and place material in order to achieve a goal within a target audience should analyze this page as it's one of the best.

Ad Placement #3

This figure:

…is an example of skyscraper synchronized with page but not necessarily the banner. The page's content is a column on being smart in the workplace. The skyscraper is a job board.

This is good placement because there's a high probability that people who want to be smart in the workplace might also be looking for career advancement. Western culture recognizes advancement as linear and usually in two directions; left to right or bottom to top. A skyscraper can subtly indicate career advancement in just this way.

But might people being smart in the workplace be simultaneously interested in a tire alignment? Is that what they're coming to the content for?

Next: When ads go wrong

Joseph Carrabis is CRO and founder of NextStage Evolution and NextStage Global and founder of KnowledgeNH and NH Business Development Network. Read full bio. He was recently selected as a senior research fellow and board advisor for the Society for New Communications Research.