What makes a display ad great?

A display advertisement is an eye-catching announcement that shows readers the benefits of a product or service and encourages them to learn more. Online, display ads typically take the form of banners or side-bars, using imagery, text and interactive elements to encourage clicks.

Modern campaigns take advantage of both channels to deliver their message to a target audience. Though every brand has a unique appeal, the basic building blocks of effective display ads are consistent, whether they happen to appear on a website, within a mobile app or in a printed publication.

A clear message

Online display ads need to make an impact quickly, or the reader may scroll away from the ad before he or she can really take in the message. Therefore, it is extremely important that readers are able to understand your ads at a glance. In the direct-to-consumer space, there may be room to add humor and non-sequiturs, in order to make the reader pause and inspect the ad, but this often is not the case for ads directed at healthcare providers.

When advertising to HCPs, it's important to clearly show the benefits of the product or service. If the reader is interested in these benefits, he or she will be more likely to want to learn more. Pharma brands will need to keep two audiences in mind: physicians, the direct audience, and patients, the indirect audience.

Due to the rise of in-browser ad blockers, readers may not even see digital display ads. In fact, 615 million connected devices used ad-blocking technology in 2016, according to Business Insider. To circumvent this wide-spread challenge, advertisers should consider hosting their ads in environments that ad blockers can't reach. For example, healthcare providers are more likely to view display ads within mobile apps and emails, compared to traditional web channels.

Print channels offer another escape from ad blockers. This is especially important for pharma brands that advertise to physicians. According to information from Kantar Research, 54 percent of physicians read between three and six peer-reviewed journals regularly. Furthermore, 95 percent of physicians read print versions of journals.

Display ads require a clear message, a single focal point and obvious branding.

A single focal point

The imagery used within a display ad is one of the most important elements contributing to the success of the campaign. An unstimulating visual will cause readers to flip the page or scroll their mouse wheel without giving the ad a second thought. An eye-catching graphic will give readers pause, allowing them to take in the message, determine if the displayed benefits are relevant to their needs, then make a decision to keep reading.

A display ad with multiple focal points is also confusing. The ad should do one job, if your ads are trying to do too many things at once, the reader will give up and move on. For instance, if your ad features several pictures, multiple lines of copy, a title and a logo, the reader won't know where to look. This doesn't mean you cannot use more than one photo, but it should be clear which is the dominant focal point.

Distinct branding

The name of your brand should be visible within the display ad. It should not detract from the main focal point or message, but neither should it be completely obscured. Once the reader is interested in the benefits of the product or service, he or she should associate those benefits with your brand. The simplest way to ensure that happens is to place your brand logo somewhere visible. Likewise, the colors within your ad should complement or match those within your logo.

Display ads should support your larger marketing goals. To learn more about how to optimize your next multichannel campaign, speak with the experts at Elsevier today.