Banner Ad? No Whey!

When’s the last time you clicked on a banner ad? Or felt anything but annoyed by one?

After years of increasingly aggressive banners – flashing, expanding, even sneaking onscreen – we’ve started to train ourselves, when not actively despising them, to ignore them. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be worth the investment.

So why bother with banners? Because what’s wrong with them isn’t their format; it’s how the content is used. You’ve seen all the gimmicks – rollovers, pop-ups, video, mini-games – but none of that stuff can turn bad content good. However, if you use the space wisely and create a message backed by sound strategy and design, a banner can be just as useful as any other marketing tool.

Take our client International Dehydrated Foods (IDF). They sought our help promoting their new high-protein chicken concentrate, and many of the channels we were to use features the sorts of banner ads you’d expect: glamour shots of well-plated meals, extreme close-ups of succulent fruits and veggies, and happy stock photo people enjoying food together on an immaculate lawn, beach, or clearing in a crop-field. Rather than add to the forgettable-banner morass, MarketPlace suggested a different approach. We came up with a bold strategy: directly challenge the dominance of whey, the market leader in protein, with a direct message and a design made memorable by its high aesthetic. The one-two punch of strategy and creative put IDF a step above the other banner ads on the site and helped garner the attention – and spark the questions – they wanted their customers asking.

Want to learn more about how strategy and creative can make any marketing tool more effective for your business? Give us a shout!