How To Outsource HTML5 Banner Production

When it comes to producing HTML5 banners for a new or existing marketing campaign, there are a few options that every marketer considers. Should I try to hire someone in house? Is finding a talented freelancer the best bet? Or is working with an experienced HTML5 banner agency the wisest choice?

The route you choose to take will largely depend on your budget, the scope of the project, and your future needs. Here’s a look at the most common ways to get your HTML5 banner produced.

Working With A Freelancer

HTML5 banner agency

Some companies elect to find a freelancer to produce their HTML5 banners. Often, these companies favor working with freelancers thanks to the lower cost when compared to hiring someone in house or working with an agency.

However, if you have a project that requires multiple concepts and hundreds of banners, a freelancer is unlikely to have the capacity to take it on. If your campaign is global and requires multiple languages and translations, this will also be outside of a single freelancer’s capacity.

Another thing to consider is how tight your deadline is. If you have an urgent project need, there may not be enough hours in the day for a one-man band to tackle. It’s also possible that the freelancer might not have the work experience or expertise that an agency has developed, like integrating a complex banner into a third-party platform.

Hiring Someone In House

If you have a consistent need for HTML5 banner production, you’ve probably considered hiring a full-time employee to take on the role. In this case, you’d have a dedicated person to work on all of your ads and the ability to manage him or her directly.

Of course, hiring someone in house isn’t without its drawbacks. Finding the right person that is both talented and fits into your company culture can be exhausting and time consuming. It takes an average of 42 days to hire someone, and it’s estimated that new employees don’t function at full capacity until they’ve been working for at least two months, and sometimes as long as six months. Most marketers don’t have the time to wait that long for their ad needs to be met.

Working With An Agency

HTML5 banner production

If you have a large project that requires an experienced team, or a short-term project that doesn’t justify hiring a new employee, an HTML5 banner agency is likely your best bet. When you work with an agency, you get to capitalize on their vast experience working with huge campaigns for top companies. Agencies know that a small tweak in your banner can make a huge difference in its performance. Plus, the ad quality that an agency provides can’t be beat.

Digital production partners are equipped to handle large-scale projects because they have an established team. A team of people who work under one roof and already have a standard line of communication, way of working and a protocol for executing tasks promises a much smoother production process.

You also have the benefit of working with a project manager, who will be your point of contact throughout the whole process. A project manager’s role is to keep the team on deadline while communicating regularly with the client. With a PM on your side, you won’t have to harass a freelancer through Skype or hover over an employee’s shoulder.

In terms of quality of the end product, ease of communication, and ad functionality, working with a digital production partner can’t be beat.

How To Avoid Headaches During The HTML5 ads Production Process

No matter who you choose to work with, there are some best practices when working with suppliers that will make the process easier.

Clearly Define The Scope

To ensure you get the end result you desire, it’s important to write down everything the project entails. When do you need it completed? Do you have images and copy to use, or will that need to be created? What are the specifications of the banner ads? How often do you want to touch base?

Before the work even begins, outline the core requirements of the project and ensuring the supplier understands them will create a stress-free process for everyone involved.

Give Feedback

Offering feedback at every stage of the production process is crucial to getting an HTML5 banner ad you’re happy with. Of course there are a lot of ways to make suggestions and review revisions.

Good agencies have already established a set of tools that make the feedback process easy. Here at Digitaland, if the client already has a storyboard, our art director will review it and make notes on the PDF for the client to review. During the production stage, we use the ADX platform, which helps us streamline the feedback process.

QA The End Product

Once you’ve received the final HTML5 banners, they need to be tested across all browsers and devices. If the ad you’ve invested in doesn’t look right on mobile, for example, you could end up wasting thousands of dollars of your marketing budget. You also want to make sure that the design is consistent across all mediums.

At Digitaland, we have a four-point QA process that we run all of our creative through to ensure that your ad will work the way it’s supposed to. We also have special tools that we use to compare the animations to ensure a consistent experience.