High-Tech Horsepower

Arc and GM Planworks created this expandable banner for Cadillac that utilizes multiple panels, and even a "sub-panel" effect, giving consumers the ability to learn a lot about the features offered on the 2005 Escalade. The Eyeblaster loading process allows the panels to display instantaneously, with no delay at all. In-depth tracking capabilities let the client know how users interacted with the banner -- panel expansion, length of interaction time and more. We also incorporated tracking tags from General Motors' proprietary tracking system to report information directly to the client.
--Robin Nelson, director, sales, Central Region Eyeblaster

Expandable banners have an interesting functionality, falling somewhere between a standard banner and a website visit. The concept of giving the viewer a quick shot of information or entertainment or whatever, without diverting them from their path through a site, makes a lot of sense.

So I like the general idea of what this ad is doing, but felt there was a little too much information. It was a lot to get through, and websites deliver content much more dynamically and digestibly than an expandable banner.

I think I would have opted to have the ‘Locate a Dealer’ feature in the expandable portion, or perhaps even a form for ordering a brochure. That way the banner message can focus on what makes the vehicle unique, and when that generates interest, features like the ‘Dealer Locator’ or ‘Build Your Escalade’ can pull the viewer in to the next level.
-- Doug Schumacher, president, Basement, Inc.

This Escalade banner was a mixed-bag. On the plus side, the technology zooms quickly and smoothly through the different frames, the pictures are high-quality, and I like that the ad is silent and user-initiated. So the bucket for the information gets high marks from me. 

On the down side, though, is the information that the advertiser has used to fill the bucket. It bothers me that there is no full photo of this vehicle in the banner, nor are there a list of available colors for interior and exterior. Pictures of the truck in action would have been nice also. I agree with Doug that the "Locate a Dealer" functionality would be a better candidate for incorporation into the banner than, say, the tab for the dual-stage air bags. Other data-choices and prioritization just seem bizarre: why is "Media Systems" the top piece of information under the Luxury tab? How many consumers buy a car or truck because of the vehicle's available media? And does the Escalade have that unusual a media package? I admit, however, that on car-enthusiast sites like Edmunds.com some of this information might make more sense than on a general site.

And finally, speaking for the rest of my myopic way-past-35 cohorts, the font in the banner is so small that it's difficult to read … and I'll bet that more folks my age can afford an Escalade than the just-out-of-college crowd.
-- Brad Berens, executive editor, iMedia Communications, Inc.