Skip to main content

Digital banners, since their introduction way back in October 1994, have revolutionised the advertising industry. Not only have digital banners been effective in targeting customers, they also served as the foundations for the overall growth of the digital advertising market. However, in recent years, digital banners have come under considerable scrutiny, with consumers using browser extensions such as ad blocks to prevent digital banners from appearing on their screens. Therefore, we’ve decided to assess why digital banners are still considered a critical component within your advertising strategy.

What are digital banners, and why are they used?

Digital banners (display advertising) are generally used for the purpose of promoting a brand. Most banner ads typically take the visitor from the banner host website to the advertiser’s website or a specific landing page. They can be both static or animated.

The myth of the decline of overall digital banner use

Whilst ad spend attributed towards digital banners has marginally declined in recent years, this does not translate to a decline in the creation and use of banner ads, with banner ad production experiencing a growth of 7% in 2017, due to greater automation and lower production costs. In the US. Online advertising formats including banner ads, video, rich media and sponsorship will account for the largest share of digital ad spending; 47.9%, and be worth $32.17Billion (www.marketer.com) The likes of Facebook, Instagram and YouTube continue to invest heavily in this channel, primarily because the main advantage of the online advertising phenomenon is that its effectiveness can be easily measured through click-through rate. The click-through rate (CTR) is calculated by dividing the number of users who clicked on the ad by the number of times the ad was displayed (impressions).

Reasons to continue to utilise digital banners

Digital banners are still considered an effective component at driving traffic to your website and can play a pivotal role in increasing conversions. Whilst high click rates is an obvious statistic by which to measure success, there are further, more subtle, reasons for engaging with digital banner advertising, relating to brand awareness and development, re-targeting as well as lead generation. Several studies have shown that the removal of banner display ads does negatively impact traffic and conversions.

Banner advertising can support Brand awareness.by providing familiarity to a retail experience and ultimately contribute to a consumers trust in a brand.

Digital banners have also adapted to changing consumer attitudes to digital advertising by  producing differentiated, targeted digital banners for different personas and potential customers. In this way, content marketing helps brands reach their customers through content that they actually want.

There is a conscious attempt from marketers to make content more personalised, sophisticated and relevant. This is important as it can help to enhance the customer’s experience rather than interrupting it. New richer media banners have the power to entirely immerse the consumer in a captivating experience, something which is found to be particularly effective.

To use digital banners effectively, it is especially important to understand and adapt to the needs of your target customers. The adaptiveness of digital banners in recent years highlights that they can and should be a critical part of your ad spend.

For more information on how we can support the cost-effective production of your Digital Banners please contact us at hello@weareamnet.com

Shelley Harrison

Author Shelley Harrison

More posts by Shelley Harrison