Full-screen ads can be a strong seller, but the execution must be flawless.

Back when the Internet was a mysterious, unexplored medium and using words like "hyperlink" and "interstitial" made a person tech-savvy, success with Web advertising was based merely on getting users to click on ads. The brainchildren of that mentality included the extremely aggressive advertising weapons, Spam and Pop-ups. When it came to shaping things to come, those early, in-your-face tactics seemingly obliterated the vision of an electronic Eden where users could seek out their own information and entertainment without roadblocks.

With respect to being considered successful tools in the marketing mix, today’s Internet ads can’t only go for the click. As evidenced by legislation against spam and the adoption of pop-up blockers, users are weary of messages that subtly yell "Click me! Click me here! Click me now!"

In the online environment, advertisements, whether for branding or direct sales, need to enrich the user experience and offer a type of unit conducive to the interactive, opt-in nature of the World Wide Web. As the Web has evolved, not only have the methods and delivery of online advertising changed, but so have user perceptions of the advertising they are likely to come across. Users expect and sometimes embrace advertising, but they often won’t tolerate it interrupting their surfing routine.

Slowly but surely, major offline advertisers are experimenting and incorporating online advertising -- and especially rich media advertising -- into their overall marketing mix. Unlike any medium before -- print, radio, television, etc. -- the Internet provides an almost limitless canvas for advertisers to work with. However, within this canvas, it seems that everyone is trying to find the right balance between advertising that is effective and advertising that doesn’t negatively impact the user experience.

The full-screen experience

The new full-screen units can meet the needs and interests of both Web sites and advertisers alike. For those not familiar with this type of product, it essentially looks and feels like a standard auto-play video ad wherein an advertiser’s JAVA or Flash-powered video clip, embedded in an in-page unit, plays upon page load. With the "full screen experience", in conjunction with the JAVA or Flash video, the user is presented with a call-to-action "full screen" button that spawns a Win Media powered video stream. This stream immediately takes over the user’s entire screen. Within the Full Screen canvas, users can control the audio and video (play, stop, pause) and can toggle back and forth between the Web page and the full-screen video feed.

For many advertisers, this type of functionality is exactly what they want from an in-page video ad. Streaming a movie trailer within a 728x90 superbanner, for instance, certainly draws the attention of the user, but because of its relatively small size constraints, seldom is the scale and scope of the movie properly translated through the ad screen. This is an obstacle no more.

"Nothing sells a movie like trailers and TV commercials," says Ian Schafer, president of Deep Focus, who represents MGM. "The best aspect of the full-screen experience is that our clients' greatest marketing assets can finally be seen the way they were meant to -- in beautiful full-screen video. We politely give audiences the option to view our ads on their own accord, rather than interrupt their online activities. Most importantly, we maintain creative continuity with traditional advertising campaigns, and keep production costs to a minimum by repurposing already existing assets."

It is prudent to point out that while every medium has its own pool of advantages, all forums for advertising have some intrinsic characteristics that must be taken into consideration. The most important thing to remember is that ads are meant to reach real people, and that these people, whom advertisers want to convert into customers, need to be respected. In the same way that you wouldn’t place a billboard in the middle of a highway, or purposely make a print ad with wet ink in order to tattoo a reader, Internet ads have to invite attention.

The perpetual neon-daylight of Times Square serves as an excellent example of how advertisements can be innovative, entertaining and effective -- without being intrusive. This is the same strategy Internet advertising is now veering towards. Where tourists flock to 42nd and Broadway to see how advertisers are gunning to grab their attention, so too are Web site users stopping on pages to watch the videos being offered to them. The benefit to advertisers, Web sites and users of the electronic medium though is that it provides users a way to increase their interaction with the messages to which they are being exposed.

The full-screen button is the hot stove of the Internet kitchen. Users notice it, know they don’t want to impede on their info gathering, but are intrigued enough to engage with the video and with the ad unit. Getting the users to throw up their palms and plant them on the ad is the first step. Being able to deliver something that converts this engagement into sales is truly the next step -- for advertisers and the online advertising industry as a whole.

Stumbling blocks

The stumbling blocks of many new rich media formats are often the Web sites, who are enticed by the higher CPMs that new rich media formats can bring, but weary of the potentially negative effects on their user base. If a new format is deemed disruptive or intrusive to the user experience, acceptance among a critical mass of Web sites could be lengthy, or non-existent, making it difficult for advertisers and agencies to effectively implement a specific media plan. Because the "Full Screen" button is an add-on feature to our universally approved in-page product, for example, initial advertisers found that they could easily plan out campaigns and utilize the new technology on virtually any site on the Web.

IFILM delivers more than 25 million streams a month. Its director of ad operations, Matt Goodman, says, "The full-screen capability is a basic add-on feature which is simple to implement and easy to approve -- definitely a plus for our clients who want in-line video ads in addition to their pre-roll iStreams."

Calls-to-action, the same devices used in direct marketing, which effectively build strong awareness and allow people to interact with a brand, allow Internet users to customize their experience with an advertiser’s message. As with all advertising though, some Internet messages either never reach users, or aren’t innovative or memorable enough to leave a lasting influence.

While our industry seeks out ways to remedy this fact, we must remember that the answer will not be found in imposing on a user’s ability to interface with the Web sites they visit. Just because advertisers can take over the user’s screen, it doesn’t mean that they should, which is why this format is the favored trend in video advertising. By way of attracting attention and then empowering the user to interact, these types of ads spread both the intended advertising message and a positive sentiment, which effortlessly parlays into better branding.

Bradley Werner and Mark Wilson are with Klipmart, creators of "The Full Screen Experience" ad unit.