Conflicting goals for banners ads
Our clients typically want us to put a lot of their content from their other tactics (e.g. their website) in their banner ads. We have all of these great, exciting, persuasive things to say. Let's put them to work for us in the banner ad! Right?
However, think about this: our clients will measure the success of the banner in taps/clicks.
If we put all of our excellent content in the banner, and say everything we want to say, are we giving the user enough of a reason to tap/click?
By accommodating our client's request to include a lot of their website content, we're actually hurting the chances of the banner being successful.
And remember, users are unlikely to catch the banner from the very beginning and watch it all the way through. Content that's linear over several frames may be lost on them.
If we use the banner to tell the user something, they may have less of a reason to tap/click.
But, if we say less, and intrigue the user with a bold, provocative CTA, they may have more of a reason to tap/click.
And of course, once the user has tapped/clicked, all of your content is on the website already, right? Now we have the tap/click that signifies measurable success, and the user can take their time and consume as much of our content as they want. It's a win-win.
So, in banners, less content, with a bold and provocative CTA, is likely to set us up for better success.
We should educate our clients about this! We're the digital experts; we should guide our clients and help them make good decisions that will enhance their success.
– Manning
Questions/comments? Feel free to contact me at manning@manningkrull.com. I update these articles pretty frequently — best practices evolve over time as the world of digital quickly changes, and I always welcome insights from others.