Six levels of engagement for banner ads
We digital pros work on banner ads all the time, but how much do we really understand the psychology of banner ads — i.e. how they may or may not hook the user, and how the user then engages (or don't engage) with them?
When our banner ad appears on a webpage, there are several possibilities for how a user may engage with it. Here they are, in order from least valuable to most valuable:
1. The user doesn't see the banner at all as they scroll past. So, really, this one is no engagement.
2. The user may see the banner peripherally — they don't actually focus on it, but they get a quick impression and may remember the brand name/logo/colors if they see them again later, for example, on packaging on a shelf in a store, or in another ad.
3. The user glances at the banner very quickly and gets a quick, conscious impression, but doesn't watch/read the content. Their reaction is either, "I recognize that brand," or, "I don't recognize that brand."
4. The user notices the banner and focuses on it after it's already begun playing, and they watch/read some content; maybe they watch it from the middle to the end. They may learn something from the content. They're likely to get a clear impression of the brand. If we're lucky, this may lead to 6, below.
5. The user looks at the banner from the beginning and reads all of the content through to the end — this either means we did a great job by leading with an eye-catching animation, or it may just be dumb luck as to when the user moves their attention to the banner. The user is likely to learn something from the content. They get a clear impression of the brand. This is our best chance of arriving at 6, below.
6. The user watches/reads enough content to be convinced, and they tap/click. This is success. This is measurable. Our client receives data on this engagement and sees that we did a great job. The user is now on our website and they can access all of our content. Everyone's happy.
So, our job is to focus on achieving number 6!
Now the question is, how do we do that? Check out my other articles on banner ad best practices for some tips that will help get you there.
– 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.