Contrary to a popular notion in some digital ad circles today, intrusive ads can be highly effective. The proviso is that they be done right. This is the same principle that has guided the
success of intrusive advertising in legacy media for many decades. Recently, the IAB conducted
in-depth research on the effectiveness of IAB Rising
Stars display ad units, and the findings demonstrated that big, intrusive ads on digital screens do build brands.
The report proves once again that evergreen criteria for intrusive ads to be
effective still apply:
- Be visually appealing.
- Capture the gaze and the heart.
- Impart information and don't overtly hard sell.
- Tell a story.
In addition, the research substantiates that ad interactivity builds brands. When we embarked on the research development, we wanted to test a simple hypothesis:
Interactivity can be shown to have a high correlation with brand lift. From multiple prior studies, we knew that Display Rising Stars garner higher interaction rates and dwell times. It
stands to reason that high interaction rates should signify something more than curiosity or fascination with the ad itself. By the same token, the history of ad effectiveness research has shown
us that compelling ads can be compelling in and of themselves, without always being successful at brand-building.
How did we get to the proof points? Working with C3Research, we designed
a multiphase research program that compared the same creative messaging for a brand in its legacy banner (a legacy Universal Ad Package, or UAP, ad) to its Rising Stars version. We tested ads
for over a half a dozen brands using three methods: eyetracking, a survey questionnaire of a national sample of 1515 respondents, and qualitative interviews. Respondents completed
surveys after browsing test websites, thus ensuring naturalistic behaviors and controlling for extraneous variables.
The overarching findings are that the display Rising Stars ads
demonstrated major strides versus legacy UAP ads, including:
- 4X higher recall
- 3X higher interaction rates
- 5X longer gaze duration
- 29.5% higher brand lift
measured by brand equity change after exposure to ad
What exactly about ad interactivity facilitates brand lift? We learned that interactivity done right has core components:
- Provide a multidimensional experience: users see layers of information in aesthetically pleasing ways that encourage learning more about the brand.
- Provide a controlled ad viewing
experience that allows consumers to skip to the piece relevant to them. They opt to scroll, view and use the ad features and information as they see fit.
The research is compelling,
and there are additional lessons essential to understanding how the Rising Stars work to build brands and how they enhance the ad and the brand experience. For me, the fact that beautiful,
intrusive ads work and that interactivity is empirically linked to brand lift is the best of all possible outcomes. Rising Stars ad units open a new aesthetic for online advertising: large,
beautiful canvases that capture the power of digital media.