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Reaping the Rewards of Rich Media

If you’ve determined Web is the correct medium for your message, you may be ready to venture into the world of Rich Media advertising. In four simple steps, you can be on your way to a Rich Media ad that will have your target audience interacting with your brand for minutes at a time. Are you ready?

Step 1: Ensure Rich Media is right for you.Questions to Consider:• IsaRichMediaadtherightWAYtocarry the message?• Canyourtargetaudiencebeengagedonline?• Canyourbudgetaccommodatethehigher costsofaRichMediaad?(They’retypically more expensive to produce and more expensive in terms of media).• Areyouwillingtotakealeveragedcreative riskthatcouldreapbigrewards?

Step 2: What should the ad contain?• Whatdoesyourtargetaudienceliketodo?• Whatwouldmotivatethemtobecomepart ofaconversationaboutyourproduct?

• Howcanyouencouragethemtoclickor mouse over the ad?• Canyoutellthecampaignstoryinvideo?• Willyoubeabletoengageuserswith a game?• Shouldyouofferafreedownloadsothe audience continues to engage with the brandafterthead?

Step 3: Engineering the right ad.Thenextitemtoconsiderisexactlyhowtheadwilllookintermsofitsarchitecture.Adscanexpanddownfromatopheadlinebanner,expand across the page from a square ad unit,ortheactivitycanallhappenwithintheconfinesoftheadunit.ThisarchitecturewillalsobedeterminedbywhatisavailableonWebsiteswithinyourmediabuyandwhatcontentyoudeterminedinsteptwo.

Then,workwithyourdesignteamtocraftanadthat’sengaging,sharestherightmessage,andachievesyourcampaigngoals.

Step 4: Tracking truckloads of success.Ah…thatfabledlaststepisoneofthestickierelementsamarketershouldconsiderwhencreatingaRichMediaad—orplanninganycomponentofacampaign.ThebestpartaboutRichMediaisthatthere’ssomuchtomeasure,amarketerwillhavetheirchoiceofmetricsandcanuseaplethoraofstatisticstoprove their return on investment.

Consider what can be measured in your ad:1.Whatinteractionisthemostimmediatecall toactioninsidethebanner?Andhowmany oftheviewersfollowedthecalltoaction?This canbetrackedinasimplenumericalcount.

A Rich Media ad created for Sears. The ad expanded when you rolled your cursor over the image to reveal a sale item. Ad included video and audio.

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2.Thenextsimplestmeasureisthecloserate.Tracking howmanypeopleclickedtoclosethead(meaning theydidn’tstaytoplay)canhelpmeasurehow engaging the ad was.

3.Howlongdoeseachuserplayaroundinsidethead?Is itamannerofseconds,orminutes?Thelongerthey stayengaged,themorepositiveexperiencethey shouldgainwithyourbrandorproduct.

4. Ifit’stabbedorhasmultiplesections,likeamicrosite, inwhichareaaretheyspendingthemosttime?

5. Iftherearedownloadsavailable,howmanypeople clickedtodownloadeachone?

Then,workwithwhomeverisprogrammingyourRichMMedia ad to ensure that the programming for each of thesemetricshasbeenbuiltintotheadproperly.

Nowyou’reonyourwaywithanew,highprofileandhighreturntoolinyourcommunicationsarsenal.

Ford was running a promotion on the purchase of a 2007 Fusion. The Rich Media ad asked you to put in your zip code and you were directed to the closest dealers Web site. If there wasn’t a dealer available it would send you to the Ford Web site to learn more and put you in touch with a Ford representative.