Click continuity and conclusion
Click and land
The final frame of a banner ad -- which Young calls the most important of all frames -- has to contain a clear call-to-action for the user. "Just a simple click here seems to work best, not to try to overdo the message or make it confusing," Hatlem says. And once you get that click, you need to follow through on whatever you promised.
"The banner is the beginning of an experience," Samari says. "It's really important when they leave the banner and go to the next step that they see continuity in the look and feel." So don't just make your homepage your default landing page for all banners. Instead, the banner and its landing page have to be related on a stylistic and textual level.
BLITZ's Martin agrees. "In a very sophisticated campaign, you can find yourself creating a unique landing page per media unit, per banner unit, just to keep the integrity across," he says.
As Hatlem puts it, "We want to make sure we're taking them to a landing page that specifically outlines that product or service and gives them the immediate satisfaction, rather than surfing all over your website for something."
Looking forward
With its amazing flexibility, rich media provides an opportunity for brands and their agencies to capture the attention of consumers. But it's an opportunity that is changing every day. Like the 30-second TV spot, what worked yesterday in banners may not work today. Punch the Monkey doesn't really work anymore -- thank goodness. So you have to innovate. Break a few rules, and follow a few others. And -- as Martin wisely recommends -- whatever you do, don't assume that what worked this time will work next time.
Blaise Nutter is a freelance writer.
