So, it’s all about relevance and context, right? Why are we still publishing boring, static advertising to pull people in. Sure, there can be advertising targeted at certain web communities, but at best, you end up with advertising which is semi-relevant to the article you are reading.
Advertisements should offer a minimal investment of time and energy, low risk, required from the user, so why demand a click when a rollover will do? A well placed rollover flash first captures attention and then engages in an interactive advertising display. You don’t want to annoy the users by placing it in-front of content, that’s just rude. Only put ads which are directly relevant to the content you’re publishing and you get a much higher engagement from the users.
I have yet to find one of these ads which will serve in a reliable way. All I can recommend is to refresh HuffPost or WeatherUnderground until one appears. Maybe I’ll get off my lazy duff and make one, just for an example.
Once you engage an audience, there are limitless ways you can inform, involve or otherwise influence them, without the risk of clicking a link. Interactive presentations allow for demonstrations, on-demand video, product information, scenario solutions, e-mail collection, etc, etc. Time to brush off those dusty Flash skills!
Lets go through how this benefits an audience. They read an article, but of course, want more information, (that’s what we do on the internet, feed our information addiction). Instead of clicking on a link and taking a chance, rolling over what seems to be a relevant dynamic advertisement which then turns into a more engaging, interactive display involves much less risk on the part of the user. Less risk means more involvement.
Lets investigate how this benefits the advertiser. A prospective customer already knows what you’re about before they commit a click to investigate your site. This means a higher conversion rate, turning eyeballs into interest into dollars.
Yes, this involves somewhat more involved work with generating the ads and tracking the clicks, but, with the benefits I’ve outlined above, the future will be permeated with web pages that have interactive advertising beyond those annoying ‘kill the clown’ games, and those will generate much more involvement than static advertising.
