In many ways, Display Ads now rule the world (…or the virtual world, at least). It’s not surprising anymore that people can barely take three paces on the internet without encountering ads in one form or another. After all, companies (both new and established) are leaning on Display Marketing Campaigns to strengthen their brand image and grow their consumer base. And why shouldn’t they? With people spending so much time online now (yes, we’re looking at you, global pandemic!), pretty much anything goes when it comes to determining what should and shouldn’t make it to your social media pages and website placements…or does it?
What we sometimes fail to realize in this regard is that it’s often not about what people are viewing, but it’s about how much of it they’re viewing. In other words, it doesn’t matter how good your ad is if people wish they could spend one minute on the internet without having to view it everywhere they go. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly logical that you’d want to increase your brand visibility by featuring your ads on every platform that receives good traffic. However, there’s a fine line between making an impression on viewers and allowing them to fall prey to banner blindness!
More often than not people grow resentful towards the companies that place their ads on every square inch of the internet (think: mid-video YouTube ads). Gone are the days of good old-fashioned video ads on TV that had everyone singing along to catchy jingles and admiring a well-crafted ad – regardless of how annoying they might have initially found it to be. Besides, the point is, in the golden era of television, people didn’t have a choice; they had to sit through ads if they wanted to watch their favorite content. However, we all know that this isn’t the case anymore as most video streaming platforms allow you to skip ads that you don’t want to view – with or without an additional fee.
Speaking of additional fees, there are now many platforms that allow users to stream videos with ads for free. Video streaming giants such as YouTube allow users to view nearly all the content they want without demanding any kind of fee except for, of course, their time. That’s where the problem comes in. Not everyone (or indeed, very few people) is happy with the idea of sitting through ad after ad just so they can skip to the main content of any video. Now, it’s bad enough for viewers to be bombarded with static display ads all day, but it’s even worse to have them view video ads when they’re in a hurry.
This is especially true for video ads that are placed on those sites which feature written content, such as news websites. There are few things more frustrating than looking for the ‘close’ button when you want to access content while you’re in a hurry. And let’s be honest here, no one on the internet is what you could call patient anyway. Given the painfully limited attention span that people have on the internet, you get no more than a few seconds or s split second to make an impression on them. If you want to make the most out of this time, then it might be wise to go for quality over quantity.
In other words, it would be better to make sure that your ads are well-made rather than well-circulated. But wait, how do we know this? Well, of late, reliable statistics have shown that less than half of all U.S. adults who took part in a survey regarding video ads admitted that they were happy with the number of ads that they were viewing on any given streaming platform. Less than half! Okay, while this isn’t exactly surprising, it does raise a very important question: is it worth spending on featuring your video ads as many times as possible when it puts your brand in a less-than-favorable light?
It appears as though younger viewers are the unhappiest with the number of ads they have to view to access full-length videos on a few streaming services. So, if the product or service that you wish to promote online is meant to appeal to this demographic, you might want to put the brakes on paying for multiple slots for your ads. A good way to ensure that your ads reach the right audience at the right time without having them tire of you is to improve your targeting.
PPC experts and marketing professionals can step in for you there. With the help of Google’s treasure trove of display ad related tools, you should be able to reach the right audience without expending too many of your resources both in the short and in the long run. After all, executing a successful online marketing campaign should work more as a marathon than a sprint. You don’t want your intended audience to think of your ads as being invasive, which is exactly what they’ll appear to be if you shove them down users’ throats over and over again when all they want is to view their favorite content.
During the past year, about one-fifth of all users who participated in a U.S. survey admitted that they found repetitive ads on streaming services to be invasive. An even higher number found such ad loads to be nearly invasive. These stats are worrying at best considering no user who feels invaded is likely to click on your ad and purchase from your brand. After all the money, time, labor, and other resources that you poured into creating video ads, this is far from ideal. Therefore, it makes sense to be careful with the number of ads that you feature on streaming sites unless you wish to alienate users who want to have an enjoyable (or uninterrupted) online experience.
