Literal out-of-the-box thinking
Since users are already used to the location of the MPU in relation to the publisher's content, advertisers are presented with the challenge of breaking the standard mold and delivering a message outside the typical banner that grabs immediate attention.
To advertise the new Eee Slate, Asus and Microsoft decided to get the message across that their product was no ordinary PC. They achieved this by developing two synchronized banners that literally involved out-of-the-box thinking. On the top banner, a young girl reaches out to the MPU in the middle of the page and grabs what looks like an ordinary PC and turns it into a tablet. In a very subtle way, the ad surprises the user and breaks the mold of the regular banner ad. Furthermore, the ad challenges the perception that a PC and a tablet should be two different products.
In online rich media, it's all about the experience. Advertisers who make the effort and let users engage with the brand through games, interactions, and glaring images are going to get attention. These are the kind of ads that are worth users' time.
As the online world becomes more crowded, brand advertisers need to think about new ways to break through the clutter. Rich media provides a flexible canvas on which to express exciting advertising ideas and get users to engage. Brand advertisers that manage to get users truly immersed in the ad can get their messages across far more powerfully than via any other medium.
Ariel Geifman is principal research analyst at MediaMind.
On Twitter? Follow iMedia Connection at @iMediaTweet.
