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Net Prophet - by Dylan Tweney

August 25, 1997

Billboards of the future: banner ads and beyond


Ever clicked on a banner ad? Or are these ubiquitous strips of advertising, which appear above and below many Web pages (including InfoWorld's), just another unremarkable part of the cyberspace landscape to you?

Apparently, somebody's clicking. This year, spending for online advertising is expected to reach $1 billion, with most of that money going toward banner ads on the Web, according to recently released figures from research firm Jupiter Communications ().

At the same time, though, users are growing tired of dancing animated ads that distract them from the content they seek.

I have a simple strategy for dealing with those annoying, non-stop animations: I just scroll the page down a bit, until the ad's no longer visible. A tip for advertisers: If you must use animated advertisements, make sure the movement stops after a few seconds -- otherwise it's just annoying.

But then, I hardly ever click on banner ads, animated or static. The only time I do is when they promise me a free notebook computer; the chance to win a million dollars; or some really interesting experience, such as the opportunity to watch Deep Blue beat Kasparov, live.

Too much of the same thing

Another problem with banner ads is that they're all the same. Spend an hour surfing several sites, and you're likely to see the same ones time and again. That's because advertisers like to spread their ads around.

On TV, that's a good idea. Lots of people seeing your commercial translates into greater brand awareness. But on the Internet, advertisements can do much more than merely build brand awareness; they can actually draw customers in to your online store and close sales. But you're not going to achieve that running the same, tired, old ad on every major Web site.

To be successful, online ads need to follow the same rules as online content. Namely, they have to offer something people want -- information, entertainment, services, or a chance to win something cool. Online ads have to invite interaction. They should be interesting in their own right. And they should be targeted at the audience of the Web site on which the ads are appearing.

For example, imagine an online ad from a car company that included a query form right on the banner ad that let you search for cars in your price range.

Or, imagine ordering something you needed, right from a banner ad, without having to click through six or seven more Web pages. You'd see an ad, click on the "buy" button, and an order form would pop up immediately -- already filled out.

One more suggestion: How about putting a scrolling news ticker with up-to-the-minute information right in the ad? That kind of animation (as opposed to "nervous text" and pictures that fade in and out) would actually be useful.

The future of advertising?

$1 billion is a lot of money to spend on Web ads, but it's just a drop in the bucket compared to ad spending for TV, radio, and print media. Online advertising is a growing market, though, expected to reach $7.7 billion in the next five years, according to Jupiter.

Although banner ads will continue to dominate the Web scene for awhile, advertisers are also experimenting with new types of online ads, such as advertisements in the middle of Web pages, alongside them, or woven into Web page content.

Even more invasive Web ads are also being tested, including so-called "interstitial" ads, which appear for 5 or 10 seconds in between content pages.

What does all this mean for consumers? More choice, certainly, as they're exposed to ever-greater quantities of advertising. But also, undoubtedly, more annoyance. Online advertisers will need to pay close attention to the Internet's culture as they experiment with new ad styles.

One thing is for sure -- whether you like it or not, online advertising is here to stay.


Dylan Tweney is a senior editor at InfoWorld. He welcomes your comments at dylan@infoworld.com.

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Copyright © 1999 InfoWorld Media Group Inc.

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