For years, experts have argued about the effectiveness of display advertising in driving conversions. The emergence of rich media display advertising has brought exciting new life into what some have considered a waning medium. In fact, because many customers have become bored with standard banner ads, research now shows that they are spending two thirds more time engaging with rich media ads—and are three times more likely to click through and convert.

Rich media poses an exciting new creative opportunity for marketers

Rich media has actually been around since the 90s—with the first rich media ad belonging to the computer brand Hewlett Packard. But it has only recently evolved and taken root for the general population over the past few years. Today it poses many attainable and exciting possibilities for all marketers.

Because rich media advertising uses a wide variety of interactive digital media—videos, audio, even live streams—it presents a “wide open” canvas for creative to apply their messages in a more impactful way. Because traditional banner ads typically only use text, image and Flash animation, there is a lot less possibility for the consumer to interact. With rich media advertising, marketers can be more complex and give consumers exciting new ways to engage with their product or their brand.

Types of rich media advertising

There are many types of rich media advertising, but three of the most common rich media ads you will experience include:

  • In page ad, Rich Media Ads that appears in a rectangle form within a webpage
  • Out of page ad, Rich Media Banners that can float, pop up or expand across a web page
  • In-stream video ads which involve streaming pre-roll and post-roll video. This is a very impactful format, and has been reported in Adform’s Quarterly Media Barometer that the rise in rich media advertising has produced a large spike in video ad playtime.

What are the benefits of Rich Media?

There is very little down side to rich media advertising. There are many benefits to investing in this exciting evolution of online marketing. A few of these benefits include:

  1. More interactions with consumers. As mentioned above, our rate of interaction can be three times higher. You will more easily grab attention with rich media ads versus the traditional types of online display advertising.
  2. More performance. You will see higher click-through rates and conversions, too. More of the people you care about will take the action you desire online.
  3. More awareness. Rich media advertising can make a huge impact on your brand awareness. Many brands first invested in rich media during the recent World Cup and saw huge lifts in brand awareness.
  4. Happier consumers. The more engaged your customers are, the happier they are with your brand. Rich media ads allow for a smoother, more engaging user experience.
  5. Measurability. Instead of only measuring the impression or click through like with standard banners, rich media banners give you the power to track and analyze a variety of different measurements.
  6. Scalability. You can create a rich media campaign that can scale to meet your needs and your budget—yet still have a huge impact in the online marketplace.

    nissan – Dynamic banner ads

Don’t wait to dive into rich media advertising.

While rich media advertising may seem scary to new comers, it would be more costly to get left behind. It is a very exciting time for online marketing—and rich media advertising in general. You owe it to yourself to investigate the potential for your business. You can start so by checking Digitaland portfolio

banco - Gamified ads

banco – Gamified ads