1. To create effective ads that promote conversations
2. To give the user a positive impression of the advertiser
The click through rate (CTR) of banner ads are continually decreasing.
Why the dismal CTR slide?
· Too many ads chasing too few viewers
· The thrill is gone
· Website clutter leads to over saturation
· Web surfers have evolved to searchers
· Users are more discriminating
76% of Internet users have some post-secondary education., (“College”). ICONOCAST Winter 2000
Experienced web searchers are smart and savvy. They will not be fooled by fake GUIs, repeatedly play silly games or naively enter their email wherever asked. Users have learned to not even see traditional banners. Although disguised banners may have higher CTRs, they do not promote trust in the advertiser, and obnoxious banners that annoy a user may attract attention, but they will not create a positive association with the advertiser.
So what do we do?
Give the users what they want: information and entertainment. In other words, give the user QUALITY CONTENT.
By this, I do not mean that content and marketing should merge. Although such techniques may be effective with some of today’s ignorant consumers, such behaviour decreases the integrity of content and can cause a very negative backlash when consumers realise they are being manipulated. Advertising is an industry that is forced to constantly be innovative to capture the interest of over saturated and increasingly critical and suspicious consumers. Take the well-recognised Sprite ad campaign from the end of the century. In this campaign advertisers mock the traditional ad techniques of “I’m cool, be like me, drink Sprite,” and play up to their target market’s cynicism to advertising: “Image is nothing, Taste is everything”. But even such alternative approaches will quickly become cliché and a new approach will have to be found.
What I suggest is to create a new kind of ad that does not rely solely on short lived fashion or trends but still fits within the ubiquitous banner/button model. Let us create ads that treat users with respect, that allow them to search efficiently and give them satisfaction by providing them with quality content and the ability to concentrate on the content of the host site. Let us create ads with integrity and ads that inform and entertain.
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in·teg·ri·ty (n-tgr-t) n. 1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. Synonym: honesty. 2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness. 3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness. |
“Ads with Integrity” is a new self-imposed set of standards of advertising that aims to be of value to the user while remaining effective for the advertiser. The ads will follow a simple ethical code that minimises user annoyance and maximises the advertiser-user relationship. Ads following this standard will be desirable for host sites, advertisers and consumers.
1. No unsolicited animation after approx. 3 seconds of loading. This allows for enough animation to attract attention to the ad, but not so much as to distract and annoy users, which would cause them to have a negative association with the ad.
2. User interaction with an ad will not cause a new page to replace the current host page. This insures that users are not angered from being displaced from their current path of navigation, and that traffic is not forced away from the host site. Other less displacing solutions such as pop-up windows and layers are allowed.
3. Ads will have an easily visible border to signify that they are not host site content. This is to show the users that the advertiser is not intending to trick the users by disguising a banner. Such a display of honesty will reduce user anxiety and increase respect for the advertiser.
4. Any interaction that will cause a new window to open or down load to begin will be labelled as such. By notifying users which interactions will cause a new window or download, they will feel free to interact with an ad without the anxiety of what the interaction will cause. When they want to engage more with the advertiser, they will request it. This will ensure greater trust in the advertiser and a more relaxed user-ad relationship. (A set of standard icons for labelling such interactive elements will become a part of this guideline.)
5. Ads following this standard will be labelled with an official copyrighted “Ads with Integrity” insignia that when clicked will open a new window displaying the “Ads with Integrity” standard. As with many standards, the practice is only of only of value if others know that you are following a standard, and they know what that standard is. By advertising that the ad follows the “Ads with Integrity” standard, users can assume a higher level of trust in the ad and they will also have greater respect for the advertiser for using the self imposed guidelines that were created for the users benefit. Having the insignia link to the guidelines facilitates an understanding of the standard, giving it value and promoting its use.
This standard is not designed to stifle or replace creative advertising. It is designed to create a more relaxed relationship between users, advertisements and hosts. By implementing this standard users will gain a more pleasurable advertising experience and a new respect for online advertisers. In turn, they will be more willing to have conversations with advertisers.
“Ads with Integrity” is a free win-win solution to the declining CTR and will prove to be most beneficial to the early adopters who will be remembered for being the pioneers of this visionary new approach to online advertising.