The New, New Thing in Digital Advertising

The New, New Thing is Native Advertising.....which is comical since it is not new. It is the current, current thing. 

Digital advertising is in a constant state of change since it is new and as an industry we are still figuring it out. It does not help that the screens we deliver it on change rapidly.

5 years ago the hottest cell phone was the Motorola Razor. The iPhone did not exist. Since then we ahve had an explosion in mobile traffic which encompasses Iphones, Androids, iPads, tablets, mini tablets and now "phablets". Publishers have gone from redesigning their site once every 4 years to creating 4 new sites every year or taking a responsive design approach where a site designed once renders to a multitude of screen size devices. 

The New, New Thing is adapting the old way of doing things to the new advertising environment. This includes efficiency through automation for standardized ad buys and custom ad solutions for premium. 

Native advertising is nothing new. As long as there has been print, there has been content written on behalf of advertisers for paid placement. There have been special ad sizes and approaches that have attracted the audience's attention and built the name recognition that leads to sales in other places. 

"I know that half of my advertising works, I just don't know which half." - Native compliments display. Native gets people buying online and leads to sales. Publishers and advertisers know this and will continue to use native and big, splashy ads because they know it works for their entire campaign.

The New, New Thing is adapting it for all the different screen sizes. Take a look at some of CheckM8's work: 

Here are some of our most recent cross screen work:

·         Aveeda Page Roll for phone & tablet (scroll to view, pauses when out of view): http://bit.ly/1f6gSig

·         Bottega Veneta Theater Unit (desktop example): http://goo.gl/HfHBmD

·         Shinola Expandable E-Commerce Ear for tablet & desktop (mouse over the right hand button in the masthead): http://goo.gl/VgS02R

·         Mercedes Benz Video Page Peel (desktop): http://bit.ly/1g0v9ww

The basis for this post came from an article on Ad Exchanger: http://www.adexchanger.com/the-sell-sider/the-current-current-thing/ @adexchnager by Jim Spanfeller @jimspanfeller

Twitter Poll Test

Take a look at these two Wish List Examples and Tweet us which one you like best:

Example 1 - David Yurman: http://goo.gl/deRyi5
Tweet


Example 2 - Van Cleef: http://goo.gl/f5tZTH
Tweet

Use E-Commerce in Advertising to Sell

"Ninety-nine percent of advertising doesn't sell much of anything." - David Ogilvy


Click the links below to see how retail brands use advertising to drive sales. By incorporating a digital showroom with video, interactive photo galleries, product information, and call outs to shop, they are driving conversions and making sales.


Levi's Windowshade: http://bit.ly/18vPAsR
Click on the banner to launch the digital showroom and notice:

• Video inside the ad
• Get A Closer Look Photo Galleries for Men's & Women's lines
• Click out to shop

Armani Style Shop: http://bit.ly/HrRVPa

Click on the banner to expand and notice:

• Mouse over the jeans for side & front view
• Men's & Women's lines
• Click to shop on e-commerce page

Lancome Drop & Shop: http://goo.gl/sB68AV

Click on the banner to launch a gallery of products with e-commerce page pulled into the ad. 


These are just some of the custom and unique capabilities CheckM8 provides as a boutique rich media technology vendor to our media, agency and brand clients. We specialize in creating better digital ads for luxury and niche advertisers who choose to associate themselves with premium content providers.

Eric Low
Business Development, Advertiser Solutions
Email: eric@checkm8.com
Phone: 212.268.2948
Twitter: @EricLow
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elow228

Be Bold with your Native Advertising

The FTC recently took up the native advertising discussion in a workshop called "Blurred Lines: Advertising or Content," due to fears that consumers will not be able to tell the difference between unbiased content and paid content. Publishers in fighting back claimed that they do disclose sponsored content and that, if there was deception, they would lose audience. They claim that it is incumbent upon them to operate in a trustworthy manner. 

What if the content was presented in such a way that it mixed with the site but was obviously an ad? So the presentation of the paid content is clearly unique from the "unbiased" content curated by the publisher.

Take a look at this example: http://goo.gl/HfHBmD 

The message is delivered via video. The FTC's discussion is surrounding text and opinion pieces. The point is to get ideas flowing on how to present text in a way that is different from the way unpaid content is presented but also integrated with the premium content of the site. At the end of the day advertisers want to marry their messaging with the premium content they are sponsoring. 

To think that consumers don't buy magazines or go to web sites as much for the advertisements as the content is a mistake. Fashion magazines and sites are built around delivering elegant brand advertising and consumers flock to those content sites to learn about what brands and styles they should be buying. The same thing with technical publications, health sites, etc. Consumers want to know what products are available to them and advertising is an information source. 

Media companies and advertisers should be proud of the service they provide to their audience and not be afraid to be bold in the way they present it. 

Eric Low
Business Development, Advertiser Solutions
Email: eric@checkm8.com
Phone: 212.268.2948
Twitter: @EricLow
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elow228