{"id":58978,"date":"2019-01-20T21:13:48","date_gmt":"2019-01-20T21:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.glaciermediadigital.ca\/?p=58978"},"modified":"2019-01-20T22:25:33","modified_gmt":"2019-01-20T22:25:33","slug":"digital-ads-are-the-billboards-of-the-information-highway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lodestardigital.ca\/index.php\/2019\/01\/20\/digital-ads-are-the-billboards-of-the-information-highway\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital ads are the billboards of the Information Highway"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>Picture this: you\u2019re driving 50km\/hour down a busy road in a commercial area. Both sides of the street are lined with retail shops, anchored with\u00a0big signs, flashing \u201cOpen\u201d\u00a0placards\u00a0with store hours, and merchandised window displays.<\/h3>\n

And remember, you are driving. You need to pay attention to the road, stay aware of other vehicles, mind the pedestrians, and dodge the wayward pigeons.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yes. Yes, It\u2019s a lot to take in. But guess what \u2013 you\u2019re not actually taking in. Every. Single. Thing.<\/p>\n

Our minds have developed a mechanism to protect us from being constantly overwhelmed. It is called perceptual screens<\/b>, which are the subconscious filters that shield us from unwanted messages before any data can be perceived.<\/p>\n

So how do you break through a consumer\u2019s perceptual screens among all of the clutter, whether you’re advertising on a busy street or on the information highway, a.k.a. the internet?<\/p>\n

\n

6 commandments of Programmatic Display design<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve spent many years working on national advertising campaigns for mega\u00a0brands such as Covergirl, Mcdonald\u2019s, and Universal Studios. Sure, they have big budgets to produce expensive photos and commercial artwork, but when we strip away the glossy big-brand elements, there are really simple and effective design lessons to be learned and used to your advantage.<\/p>\n

Thus, I will now make my point: all of the most effective outdoor\u00a0advertising\u00a0rules are just as applicable to digital\u00a0ad design for local businesses.<\/p>\n

Below are 6 commandments of Programmatic Display design.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Thou shalt not use more than 7 words<\/strong>
\nThis is hard, we know. But imagine yourself in a car looking up at a billboard with 50 words. Not a single driver in the world will be able to read much more than 7 words.<\/p>\n

Now think of users on the internet where there are way more distractions and options for them to spend their time. Keep it simple, short, and punchy (gotta punch through the perception screens).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Thou shalt not use more than one point of contact<\/strong>
\nIf your ad includes a phone number, street address, directions to your location and a website, you have three too many points of contact. Some might even say four too many. If you make a great ad, people will seek out your business.<\/p>\n

(Pro Tip: If you’re a business owner, this is where you should ask your Glacier Media Digital account executive about digital retargeting and geo-fencing.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Thou shalt not always include a call-to-action
\n<\/strong>Gasp! A controversial statement, for sure. But hear me out.<\/p>\n

Display ads are great for brand marketing, which should focus on creating awareness.\u00a0Frequent brand ad exposure\u00a0can nurture familiarity and mental recall for when a consumer is actually<\/em> seeking out your product or service to address their needs or solve their problems. Display ads can help your brand stay top-of-mind.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0well-planned marketing program wouldn’t just depend only on\u00a0display ads to do everything. That’s like asking your doctor to also be your accountant and car mechanic.<\/p>\n

As long as your\u00a0ad\u00a0creates some sort of emotional response, viewers will decide what action they want to take. By now, many users know that ads are clickable, too. So repeat after me: It is the year\u00a02019. My digital audience is smart and not every ad needs a call-to-action<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Thou shalt not ignore thy audience
\n<\/strong>Take care to know who you\u2019re speaking to, and speak to them in the right tone. Your target audience is not everybody. Narrow your focus and you\u2019ll make more sales.<\/p>\n

The best analogy is a shotgun versus a sniper rifle. With a shotgun you spread your chances of making a kill. But the sniper rifle guarantees it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Thou shalt not rip off national advertising campaigns<\/strong>
\nMastercard\u2019s Priceless<\/a> campaign and the Got Milk?<\/a> campaign are fantastic and ridiculously effective. Copying them won\u2019t be as effective for you. Sure, people might chuckle at first, but they\u2019ll forget you pretty quickly. Doing this is no way to build your brand. So stop doing this. Just stop. Now.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Thou shalt break the rules<\/strong>
\nOnce you\u2019ve mastered the rules, you can break them if you have a very deliberate purpose rooted in a strong concept. If your concept just wouldn\u2019t work without breaking a rule, then you\u2019ve probably got an award-winning\u00a0ad campaign on your hands.<\/p>\n

Just a word of advice:\u00a0this requires high calibre\u00a0design\u00a0and strategy to execute well.\u00a0If you’re going to break the rules, make sure you do it really, really well.\u00a0No brand wants to look like a car crash (unless that’s part of your strategy).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our minds have developed a mechanism to protect us from being constantly overwhelmed. It is called perceptual screens, which are the subconscious filters that shield us from unwanted messages before any data can be perceived. So how do you break through all of the clutter?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":58979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design-branding"],"yoast_head":"\nDigital ads are the billboards of the Information Highway -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.lodestardigital.ca\/index.php\/2019\/01\/20\/digital-ads-are-the-billboards-of-the-information-highway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Digital ads are the billboards of the Information Highway -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our minds have developed a mechanism to protect us from being constantly overwhelmed. 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