Display ads are the most familiar and common ad types found in the programmatic landscape. They have a large amount of scale and offer the ability to build brand awareness and ad recall. That said, to truly get the maximum benefit from your display ads, you want to ensure you are leveraging a cross-channel strategy across display, video and native. As the other channels have emerged and evolved to complement display campaigns, display ads have also improved in their capabilities. Specifically, there has been a rise in the use and variety of rich media ad formats, allowing for a more unique and interactive viewer experience. As these ad formats have evolved, it’s beneficial to leverage rich media ads to uplift and complement your digital strategy.
Multiple Channels For The Win
Taking advantage of the multiple channels in your programmatic strategy is crucial because it allows you to reach the most of your desired target market. It also helps to align your digital strategy with consumer behaviour—everyone consumes media differently, so you want to capture all preferences. While some of your audience may prefer to read articles online, others prefer to watch videos. Depending on the goal of your campaign, and the message you are trying to communicate, you will want to select an advertising channel accordingly.
To make the most of your programmatic campaigns, we’ve outlined three ways you can integrate rich media ads to uplift and complement your digital strategy, to efficiently achieve your performance goals.
How Rich Media Ads Complement Video Ads
Video advertising is an ideal medium for storytelling. It provides an opportunity to communicate your brand values, mission statement, and why you are unique compared to the competition. By using sound and imagery in tandem, a brand can influence how they are perceived by the viewer. And if you incorporate connected TV (CTV) into your video strategy, you unlock an even larger opportunity to capture your audience’s attention.
Below is an example of what a compelling video ad may look like, and how it can be used in a digital video campaign or CTV.
Video creatives such as this one are great to generate awareness and introduce your audience into your funnel. The next step is to include a rich media creative in a retargeting tactic, to uplift your campaign performance. You can actually use the same video, in an in-banner display asset. Doing so allows you to access a different inventory type and re-engage with those who have expressed interest in the ad already.
Since the video is embedded into a display ad placement, as in in-banner video, you are exempt from the restrictions that traditionally exist for video creatives. Specifically, there is no limitation on video length.
How Rich Media Ads Complement Native Ads
There are a number of benefits to native ads. They match the form and feel of the page, they provide a great way to drive interested users to relevant blog posts, and they allow for effective A/B testing. Writing blogs is a way for you to establish your brand as a knowledgeable resource, building affinity and trust with your readers. If you are writing blogs on varying topics, depending on which campaign performs well, you can determine what content resonates the best with your audience. Below is an example of a compelling native ad.
But how can rich media ads benefit this native ad in a campaign? If a user is exposed to the native ad in the example above, you could leverage a dynamic countdown format and retarget users who have landed on your website, with information about an upcoming webinar. Dynamic countdowns are a great format when you want to create a sense of urgency. With the time ticking, it enforces the concept that something is only available for a limited time. This can be used for a variety of promotions, including a webinar, course registrations, or even a sign up page. Below is an example of what that might look like.
Leading Your Strategy With Rich Media Ads
We’ve seen how rich media ads can uplift your digital strategy when leveraged with retargeting tactics. Rich media ads also have the power to drive your campaign performance from the start.
If you are launching a new brand or product, or simply trying to gather data on audience preferences, rich media banners will prove to be incredibly successful. These creatives actually allow you to uncover specific information about your target audience. For example, if you want to learn what your audience’s favorite ice cream flavor is, you can ask them using a discovery ad.
Once you have gathered that information, you can later build a retargeting campaign that highlights the flavour they identified as their favourite. This format is called discovery for a reason. Discovery ads allow you to discover insights about the audience, and cuts out a lot of the guesswork, setting your retargeting campaign up for success.
If you use a rich media discovery ad as your prospecting tactic, you could leverage native to retarget and address the selection made in the previous campaign. For example, if they choose chocolate as their favorite flavor, retarget them with a native ad that speaks to them as chocolate lovers!
It’s no question that employing a multi-channel strategy is beneficial to campaign success, and by using rich media ads, you can truly enrich your digital strategy.
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Drop us a line at Sales@PrecisionReach.com or call Bob Schenck at 847-778-1886