There was a time when I thought all display advertising was ”meh.”
I have reasons (and deep) rationale to think this way. Few were around selling banner ads when they first came out, like I did. I was on the front lines of the dot com boom, bust and echo. I was there when search engine marketing first became a thing. I was there when the IAB came online, and standards became part of the formalization and validation of this advertising channel. This was before search engine marketing became the online advertising juggernaut that it is. Back then display (known as banner advertising) was much bigger than search. Now, it’s becoming abundantly clear: publishers can’t get off of the drug of display advertising. Still, consumers are pushing back with ad blocking, and marketers need a place to park the massive ad spend from dollars that are shifting over to digital. From brands to media companies to publishers, I have spent the vast part of the past two decades selling, promoting and watching this form of online advertising evolve. From the initial promise of performance and analytics, to its current state of branding.
Most of the time, display advertising is an afterthought.
As online advertising evolves, my feelings have changed as well (I trust that yours have as well). Display units have become a necessary but complex part of publishing, and have not adjusted to replace the dollars that publishers have lost in their other traditional business models. Candidly, I had accepted them for what they are. That is until I started using the mobile app and awesome navigation tool, Waze (which was acquired by Google for over $1 billion in 2013).
Waze does display advertising right.
Like most display advertising formats, I was initially frustrated by the interruptive nature of Waze’s display advertising. After about ten minutes, I was in awe by how well done it is… and, more importantly, by how well done it will be, as it evolves and matures. Waze takes display advertising, and adds two components to it that make it so glorious. It’s not only relevant and powerful, but perhaps one of the smartest applications of display advertising online that I have come across:
What makes a great ad?
Relevant, timely, easy and valuable. Waze’s advertising platform is not perfect. It’s not always relevant and timely, but you can feel that this publisher has put a significant amount of effort into making the advertising experience valuable to the brand, and relevant with a hint of additional value to the user. Huge win in a world where most (including me) have become skeptical of display advertising efficacy and evolution.
You can’t ask for more, when it comes to display advertising.
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