Think online consumers can't try before they buy? Take a look at some key strategies that can build relationships and increase purchase intent within a humble banner ad.
My son is on his high school golf team, which is a source of pride and shock for me -- I’m proud of him and I am shocked that my oldest is now in high school. We take regular trips to the driving range to keep his skills sharp and his wit sharper -- he loves to make fun of my golf swing.
Point is, we are at the driving range and as I walk to our spot on the range, I am stopped by a rep for a golf club manufacturer. He has in his hands the latest and greatest driver that is guaranteed to improve my distance, my accuracy… and to re-grow my hair. He invites me to step onto the mat and take a swing or two. I do this and am immediately, if not painfully, reminded that it’s going to take a lot more than this golf club to improve my game, not to mention my hairline -- both are pretty much lost causes.
I thank him for his time and tell him that spending $250 on a club for my game is more than futile; it’s actually kind of sad and pathetic. He chuckles at this and hands me a discount card good for 10 percent off the club. He invites me to give it to a friend.
I walk up to my own mat to see my son is rocket-launching balls 250+ yards with an old, banged up driver -- those who can’t do, make children and hope that they can. As I see him blasting balls into the stratosphere, a little light goes on: the light of purchase intent. I walk my boy back to this fellow and have him take a few swings with the new driver. He does and $250, minus 10 percent later, my son’s game is better than ever.
This story demonstrates the power of experiential marketing. Most of us have only recently heard of this discipline, but it’s been around for ages. Anyone who goes to Costco knows all about the army of employees waiting to add items to your cart, and pounds to your waistline, by way of the free samples they hand out.
The point of experiential marketing is simple -- play with the product or brand in such a way as to increase purchase intent. The rules are even simpler:
- Attract attention from targeted consumers
- Gauge their intention to listen to what you have to say
- Get them to interact with your product in some way
- Get their commitment to buy said product
Whether you are a golf club salesman or a free sample hander-outer guy, you know that when people have a chance to experience your product before they buy it, the chance of making a sale is greater.
The same set of rules can work online. While we don’t have people stuffed into your computer monitor waiting to pounce, we can still drive product and brand interaction online in an effort to increase purchase intent.
Let’s look at how we would do this by way of display banners. The great thing about display banners are that we can get a lot of stuff into them -- video, audio, mini-games, email, database functions and much more. We can use this functionality to give consumers a stronger relationship with the brand before they click through to the product website. If and when they do, they become much stronger candidates to convert to an action – a sale, registration, etc.
How do we do build this stronger relationship within the banner? Bottom line: design is critical. There are four components that go into designing brand experience banners. They are, in order:
1. Get attention
The ad needs to stand out in the crowded space of content and other ads competing for the “eyeshare” of your target consumer. Eye popping graphics are important, but balance that against the other three dimensions to ensure you don’t burn the consumer’s confidence in your message. The ad should be attractive enough to get the consumer’s attention. Nothing more. Nothing less.
2. Get intention
Intention and attention are not the same. Just because an ad is big and flashy, doesn’t mean it deserves or will provoke a qualified response. Pop-ups and interstitial ads get loads of attention, but we have trained our brain to ignore them where intention to click is concerned. The consumer must make a conscious decision to interact. That conscious decision is “intention”.
3. Get interaction
A clickthrough is not enough these days. A flashy graphic and an offer to “click here” can still leave consumers guessing. This leads to wasted clicks and lower conversions. Interaction with branded content drives product knowledge. This allows consumers to have a greater understanding of your product prior to the clickthrough.
4. Get the commitment
It’s true that information leads to consumers making a commitment to click through. But there needs to be more. They need to be confident that clicking will get them what they want, so copy is crucial. Tell them WHY they should click through. Incentives are also important. Creating urgency by way of a limited-time discount or bonus content will go along way, especially with consumers who are already familiar with your product.