Retargeter

Creative Matters pt2: Achieving a Successful Online Advertising Campaign

As we discussed last week, your digital aesthetic can play a huge role in the performance of your digital advertising campaign. By creating attractive, concise and well branded ads, you build a layer of trust between brand and user. This relationship between advertisement and customer can be built over time by knowing some simple, yet effective steps, towards aesthetically optimizing your creatives.

Keep it simple, stupid.

Think original iPod. A simple silloutte of someone dancing, with a white iPod on their hip. How powerful was that?

Simple and concise artwork is easier for the eye to glance over. Having clear space, easily legible text and a simple tagline can allow users to grasp the “bottom line” of the ad faster and more easily. Having a simple element that adds direction to the ad can also help lead the users eye towards your call to action. The goal is to have the user understand what you are trying to tell them as quickly as possible. Eliminating overtext and useless images can streamline this.

Triple the action!

A successful campaign always has a call-to-action. A call-to-action can be in the form of a button, an arrow, or a different element that you want the user to interact with. We find that having a more passive CTA can yield a higher click-through-rate. By not suggesting “Buy Now” or “Do This,” you are making more of a suggestion, rather than forcing a user to do something.

Image is everything.

Utilizing great stock photography or photography of your product can enhance your branding and appeal. If you are a restaurant, having a juicy freshly cooked burger, frosty chocolate shake, and side of crispy hot salty fries (jeez I am hungry) gives users a reason to be drawn to your ad. By having an enticing image that directly relates to what you are advertising, you create a more direct connection between your brand and your user – ultimately increasing your chances the user will pause on your ad longer.

Such a vibrant thing.

During it’s boom, McDonald’s restaurants invested quite a bit of time delving into the psychology of their market. They found that red, yellow and white could induce hunger in their customers. Perception of the user can be be influenced by the colors used in your ad. For some companies, subtle colors and pastel tones may be more on brand, but giving your ad vibrance through colors can also impact your CTR. If you have a subtle colorway, try adding a brighter accent color on your CTA or background. Maybe your market is a younger demographic – who responds more to fluorescent colors? Your ad should reflect this.