More on the Digital Age

This is going to be a short one, folks.
Continuing on the trend we've been talking about for the past couple posts, I just read an article in AdAge by Noah Brier, head of strategy and planning at the Barbarian Group. It was an interesting post about how display ads really aren't that creative. And it was so true.

Display ads, according to Mr. Brier, should be developed with the same kind of tender love and care (aka, strategy and planning) with which a print or a TV ad is developed. With all the increased opportunity and exposure a client can get from a display ad- a more narrow audience, tailored to exactly the buyers who want or are looking to buy the client's product- why wouldn't you place as much or even more importance on developing these ads? They don't necessarily have to get you the correct CPM, or even click-throughs, though those would be nice. They just need to grab attention, and, like billboards, embed themselves in the consumers' subconsciouses to come into effect at a later date. They don't have to be huge flash productions of ads, either; a simple smart headline would do the trick, or a smart picture, or any combination of the above.

The trick of these ads, however, is to blend in while standing out. Brier provides two main points for creators of display ads to keep in mind while developing these ads:
1. Make a different ad for a large site than you would for a small site. Pretty self-explanatory. Large sites are probably more important, or at least get you more exposure, no?
2. Design things that belong. Ads that stand out so much on a page that they just have to bring attention to themselves almost scream "Don't pay attention to me!"

Like all ads in today's day and age, display ads have to blend in with the website on which they're being displayed while at the same time standing out enough to attract attention that sticks. Like everything in life, it's all about finding the balance.

More about comparing advertising to yoga later.