Social Banner Ads Continue to Frustrate
Banner advertising has long been the bane of web surfers around the world. Garrish, annoying and ineffective, it’s rare that a campaign actually expresses any level of creativity or effectiveness.
As social networks entered the scene - ripe with rich, detailed demographic data about each and every user - advertisers simply couldn’t resist. But, an odd thing happened on the way to targeting users in online communities. No one clicked on the ads.
It seems once inside the walled garden of Facebook or among friends on MySpace, users weren’t in any mood to search for new mortgage rates or purchase airline tickets and avoided the ads at all cost. In the latest attempt to earn more clicks through banner advertising on social networks, the social media advertising firm SocialMedia launched "social banners," which create banner ads that incorporate you or your friends into the ad. CNet writes:
For example, instead of a banner advertising The Incredible Hulk movie, a social banner would ask which of your close Facebook friends, among a short list, you’d like to invite to see the movie. Or a social banner might inform you that a friend Jim just ranked Iron Man with three stars, and it might ask to "click here to buy tickets at Fandango."
While the intent may be, "to make ads suck less in social networks," said Seth Goldstein, founder of San Francisco-based SocialMedia Networks, this move could bring a backlash similar to the Facebook Beacon uproar from last year. The privacy issues that arise are incredibly complex.
When it comes to social networks, brands need to think differently about how they engage with customers. There are far greater opportunities to earn customers through providing meaningful service and marketing that has value. Banner ads that are enjoyable and valuable are still too few and far between, and leave most of us feeling like this:
Bbooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh
And that video is amazing!
Josh, are you booing because you love banner ads? Or are you booing the banner ads in support of Ryan’s post?
Yes, I agree, that video is fantastic. Is that an elephant trumpeting repeated throughout? It’s perfect - almost as annoying as banner ads themselves.
But seriously, Ryan, banner ads MUST work, right? Or else, why do they exist? I hear you on ‘nobody clicks’ but if that’s true, why do we continue to see them everywhere?
@Emily—yeah that was a bit ambiguous, wasn’t it? I’m booing at banner ads.
I did see a banner ad for Robeks Smoothies (dee-light) on Washington Post that had a “buy on get one free” coupon advertised. I liked that banner.
That video was hilarious! I have actually made a few banner ads in my time designing for companies, and the reason they are still being made is that while you and me, and certain other people have the will power to not click and look away, banner ads target the way people’s eyes work, and really entice them to click, so they do, and voila!
they are like billboards on the highway, cluttering up the beautiful scenery, but there nonetheless.
Yes i think Social Media Social banners wud do work for banner advertising. It is nice step by the. But i liked the video very much.............
@Emily - The success rates for online banner ads are different if you look at the “social” ads that are displayed inside a social network like Facebook, for example, than you would generally find say on a general portal page like Yahoo. While the traffic is certainly different, advertisers are learning that people aren’t as willing to click on an ad inside their social network as they would elsewhere. This post has further insights into why that might be: http://www.challengedividend.com/the_challenge_dividend/2008/04/facebook-ads-do.html. Ultimately, it comes down to the idea that inside a social network, folks aren’t in the process of searching for anything - they are there to interact with friends.
@Zach - what did you find were the keys to creating a successful banner ad?
A social ad with people in it is still an ad. A concept, btw, which has been used for decades. I am wondering if they can save online advertising, or if it’s just a reprieve to keep spening on media instead of creating valuable experience for people.
http://culturalfuel.com/2008/08/08/social-banners-can-they-save-online-advertising/
Alex - thanks for your insights. The final line in your blog post on AARF’s own social ads initiative captures the issue well: “pure messaging media will have to become de-emphasized in the favor of building holistic brand experiences.”
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