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The Ozometer by Play
Play was assigned by FOSTER’S to help celebrate the brand’s infectiously Australian, ‘No Worries’ attitude. More on Play's award winning campaign.Online creativity and thinking inside the box
Written by Amy Kean, Senior PR and Marketing Manager, IAB
Online display advertising has only been around in its finest form for 5 or so years. Yet despite its relative infancy, we have already noted some common industry-wide misconceptions that must be addressed as the medium grows:
This chapter should put to rest each one of these false perspectives.
In the previous chapter, we discussed the formats and standards for display advertising – the shapes and sizes that online creatives must adhere to throughout the conceptual and production process. Anecdotally we know that those in the digital creative industry at first felt somewhat restricted by the ‘confined’ space offered by online. For marketers who understood the traditional dimensional ‘boundaries’ of marketing - time for television and radio, and a much larger, more defined advertising space with print and outdoor, the online display formats felt like a cage. What was there to do in such a small area of the consumer’s viewing pane? How could you possibly be creative with a surface area of just a few centimetres? How can you impress and engage your audience with online, when traditional advertising can take you to other worlds with incredible wide-screen visuals and extensive prose?
But over the years, making the most of the online space has become a challenge embraced by the digital creative community, who have pushed the boundaries of display advertising to create eye-catching, response-evoking and award-winning work. Within the confinements of the banner, skyscraper or MPU, you are able to change perspective, tell stories in sequence and expand upon request, enabling your consumer to interact further. The trick is to think inside the boxes available and understand exactly what it is that grabs the audience’s attention during their online session.
Thankfully, the theory that popping up in front of a computer screen with a far-from-relevant message is almost extinct. Accounting for just 0.5% of all online advertising expenditure in 2007, over the next few years - and by the time the internet becomes the biggest marketing medium - the IAB hopes that this will total a massive 0%. For many media owners and agencies, pop-up advertising is a thing of the past that no longer even bears thinking about. But in terms of advertiser, and indeed consumer perception, there is still a job to be done to educate our wider audiences and show them exactly what is possible with display advertising.
In fact, rather than just encouraging the old faithful ‘click to buy’ (which does serve a purpose, of course), display advertising online has a number of other roles which have been showcased exceptionally within a wealth of recent campaigns, such as:
There are, of course, a number of further roles for display advertising which can be incorporated into the creative execution depending on the campaign objectives. For automotive marketers for example, it can be a great way of capturing data, enabling online users to provide contact information and even book a test drive within the format and without having to leave the site they’re on. Furthermore some ads can simply provide the online audience with all the information they need, again without having to interfere with their online session and navigate away for more details. The display advertising from Yell.com consistently fulfils this role, integrating the key function of the site within the online formats to provide users with information regarding local venues and amenities.
In July 2007, Grand Union launched a summer campaign for The Department of Health. Under the umbrella brand of ‘Condom Essential Wear’, the focus of this campaign was to extend the strategy of normalising condoms amongst young adults and to communicate that they should pack condoms when they are going away on holiday.
Strong engagement with the audience was important as they are unlikely to seek out this educative information themselves. Using a range of interactive executions, the aim was to grab the user’s attention, such as the ‘beer goggles’ ad, which illustrated the effect that alcohol can have on one’s perception of attractiveness.
Given that IKEA sell stylish furnishings at affordable prices, the key consumer insight to challenge was the widespread belief that low price equals low quality. Agency.com showed people that, when it came to purchasing an IKEA kitchen, they didn’t have to sacrifice quality for price. To shift perceptions and gain cut-through, they set out to dramatise in an unexpected and engaging way not only the robustness of the product but also the extreme lengths that IKEA go to in ensuring their kitchens are up to the job.
IKEA use test robots to make sure all their kitchens are finished to the highest level and so the ‘Kitchens that are built for real life’ campaign was devised. Bringing together a strong concept and digital expertise, they created an innovative, integrated idea that worked effectively not only across a range of online rich media formats but also as offline in press, cross track, outdoor and bus-side executions.
The campaign featured ‘IKEA test robots’ in fun and often surprising scenarios, demonstrating the extensive testing undertaken to guarantee the quality of each kitchen. Placing rebellious, moody or steamy robots in a range of different real-life situations, the executions showcase the depth, style and functionality of IKEA kitchens, whilst also highlighting their appeal across a range of lifestyles and tastes.
In 2007, a further Royal Marines recruitment campaign capitalised on the online space to communicate the intensity of this career. The idea behind the campaign was that you can make it if you have the right state of mind. The creative idea was based around the unique commando spirit of the Royal Marines - steely determination, patience, enterprise, discipline in all conditions, understated confidence and a dry sense of humour to help get them through some fiercely intense combat situations.
With attention-grabbing video ads, each bespoke to the online format, Glue created a range of backdrops for the ‘typical’ Royal Marine to venture through, such as jungles and snowy mountain ranges. The ads were fully interactive, with the user able to change perspective to fully appreciate the tough experiences Royal Marines face every day.
Online display advertising can also promote and drive you to a richer online experience, which is less about sales and more about appreciating the brand via a dedicated microsite or brand’s own site. GT’s work for the Audi A5 did this to target an audience ‘beyond the reaches of traditional advertising’.
The brief was to create and drive people to an online destination that would build the Audi brand by increasing the desirability of the new Audi A5 Coupé. The main aim of the campaign was to capture the interest of sophisticated, metropolitan 35/40 year olds who are extremely image conscious and wanted a beautiful, rather than a fun car. GT therefore played on their audience’s creative ambitions, tantalising them with a beautiful site and flattering them with a creative tool that would reward them both on and offline.
The Audi design team describes the new A5 as ‘a rhythm of lines.’ This line had already been used in the TV work, and it seemed only natural to build on this line to devise a beautiful, intuitive site that allowed the audience to create their own ‘rhythm of lines’ - rhythmoflines.co.uk. The audience was driven to the site from online advertising placed on design-led sites such as Wallpaper, The Times Online Arts Section and Creative Review, and invited people to create their own ‘rhythm of lines’ in a way that had never been seen before, and receive a limited edition print of their design.
FMCG marketers, more than most, have taken their time to fully embrace internet display advertising, particularly since they hold such a heritage with the more traditional media. Confectionary advertisers in particular are responsible for some of the most memorable TV campaigns we’ve seen over the years. So, making that move to online is quite a big step, and a 2008 campaign from Cadburys Creme Egg produced by CMW Interactive, wholeheartedly ran with the range of formats available to successfully extend the brand, whilst integrating the creative with other media activity.
The Creme Egg digital campaign consisted of a microsite to support the new brand direction ‘Here today, goo tomorrow’, which was complemented by interactive rich media ads. Extending the brand even further, and with the target audience in mind, CMW Interactive also integrated content into the online animated series ‘Weebl & Bob’ and created a sponsored Bebo profile and application.
They used online PR, seeding and an advertising campaign to drive traffic to the Resident Evil Extinction website. Here, users signed up and created a competition avatar which they looked after until the day they were released onto the web into some never-seenbefore live rich media placements over a number of sites. Here, they were killed off throughout the day...until there was only one.
Whilst vastly different in terms of the brief, objectives, target audiences and execution, one thing unites each of these campaigns – a great idea and even better creative, effectively engaging the user and playing with the space provided to complement the online session. Each of these highly innovative pieces of work was produced bearing in mind the opportunities offered by internet display advertising, rather than its restrictions. Of course, this chapter has provided just a snapshot of the great campaigns that the internet boasts, and you can find more at Creative Showcase – the monthly IAB and Microsoft Advertising awards that celebrate the best in online creativity.
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Online display advertising has only been around in its finest form for 5 or so years. Yet despite its relative infancy, we have already noted some common industry-wide misconceptions that must be addressed as the medium grows:
- Misconceptions about display
- Inside the box
- Make pop-ups history!
- Raising awareness
- Entertainment
- Evoking an emotional response
- Integrating and extending the brand
Misconceptions about display
- Firstly, that online is a restrictive space allowing for little creativity.
- Second, that internet display advertising should be interruptive - consumers will never notice you unless you get in their way.
- Finally, online is all about direct response because it’s the most measureable, accountable medium that can facilitate sales from the initial point of consumer interest.
This chapter should put to rest each one of these false perspectives.
Inside the box
In the previous chapter, we discussed the formats and standards for display advertising – the shapes and sizes that online creatives must adhere to throughout the conceptual and production process. Anecdotally we know that those in the digital creative industry at first felt somewhat restricted by the ‘confined’ space offered by online. For marketers who understood the traditional dimensional ‘boundaries’ of marketing - time for television and radio, and a much larger, more defined advertising space with print and outdoor, the online display formats felt like a cage. What was there to do in such a small area of the consumer’s viewing pane? How could you possibly be creative with a surface area of just a few centimetres? How can you impress and engage your audience with online, when traditional advertising can take you to other worlds with incredible wide-screen visuals and extensive prose?
But over the years, making the most of the online space has become a challenge embraced by the digital creative community, who have pushed the boundaries of display advertising to create eye-catching, response-evoking and award-winning work. Within the confinements of the banner, skyscraper or MPU, you are able to change perspective, tell stories in sequence and expand upon request, enabling your consumer to interact further. The trick is to think inside the boxes available and understand exactly what it is that grabs the audience’s attention during their online session.
Make pop-ups history!
Thankfully, the theory that popping up in front of a computer screen with a far-from-relevant message is almost extinct. Accounting for just 0.5% of all online advertising expenditure in 2007, over the next few years - and by the time the internet becomes the biggest marketing medium - the IAB hopes that this will total a massive 0%. For many media owners and agencies, pop-up advertising is a thing of the past that no longer even bears thinking about. But in terms of advertiser, and indeed consumer perception, there is still a job to be done to educate our wider audiences and show them exactly what is possible with display advertising.
In fact, rather than just encouraging the old faithful ‘click to buy’ (which does serve a purpose, of course), display advertising online has a number of other roles which have been showcased exceptionally within a wealth of recent campaigns, such as:
- Raising awareness
- Entertainment
- Evoking an emotional response
- Integrating and extending the brand
- Driving online PR and embracing the social element of the web
There are, of course, a number of further roles for display advertising which can be incorporated into the creative execution depending on the campaign objectives. For automotive marketers for example, it can be a great way of capturing data, enabling online users to provide contact information and even book a test drive within the format and without having to leave the site they’re on. Furthermore some ads can simply provide the online audience with all the information they need, again without having to interfere with their online session and navigate away for more details. The display advertising from Yell.com consistently fulfils this role, integrating the key function of the site within the online formats to provide users with information regarding local venues and amenities.
Raising awareness
In July 2007, Grand Union launched a summer campaign for The Department of Health. Under the umbrella brand of ‘Condom Essential Wear’, the focus of this campaign was to extend the strategy of normalising condoms amongst young adults and to communicate that they should pack condoms when they are going away on holiday.
Entertainment
Given that IKEA sell stylish furnishings at affordable prices, the key consumer insight to challenge was the widespread belief that low price equals low quality. Agency.com showed people that, when it came to purchasing an IKEA kitchen, they didn’t have to sacrifice quality for price. To shift perceptions and gain cut-through, they set out to dramatise in an unexpected and engaging way not only the robustness of the product but also the extreme lengths that IKEA go to in ensuring their kitchens are up to the job.
The campaign featured ‘IKEA test robots’ in fun and often surprising scenarios, demonstrating the extensive testing undertaken to guarantee the quality of each kitchen. Placing rebellious, moody or steamy robots in a range of different real-life situations, the executions showcase the depth, style and functionality of IKEA kitchens, whilst also highlighting their appeal across a range of lifestyles and tastes.
Evoking an emotional response
In 2007, a further Royal Marines recruitment campaign capitalised on the online space to communicate the intensity of this career. The idea behind the campaign was that you can make it if you have the right state of mind. The creative idea was based around the unique commando spirit of the Royal Marines - steely determination, patience, enterprise, discipline in all conditions, understated confidence and a dry sense of humour to help get them through some fiercely intense combat situations.
With attention-grabbing video ads, each bespoke to the online format, Glue created a range of backdrops for the ‘typical’ Royal Marine to venture through, such as jungles and snowy mountain ranges. The ads were fully interactive, with the user able to change perspective to fully appreciate the tough experiences Royal Marines face every day.
Online display advertising can also promote and drive you to a richer online experience, which is less about sales and more about appreciating the brand via a dedicated microsite or brand’s own site. GT’s work for the Audi A5 did this to target an audience ‘beyond the reaches of traditional advertising’.
The brief was to create and drive people to an online destination that would build the Audi brand by increasing the desirability of the new Audi A5 Coupé. The main aim of the campaign was to capture the interest of sophisticated, metropolitan 35/40 year olds who are extremely image conscious and wanted a beautiful, rather than a fun car. GT therefore played on their audience’s creative ambitions, tantalising them with a beautiful site and flattering them with a creative tool that would reward them both on and offline.
Integrating and extending the brand
FMCG marketers, more than most, have taken their time to fully embrace internet display advertising, particularly since they hold such a heritage with the more traditional media. Confectionary advertisers in particular are responsible for some of the most memorable TV campaigns we’ve seen over the years. So, making that move to online is quite a big step, and a 2008 campaign from Cadburys Creme Egg produced by CMW Interactive, wholeheartedly ran with the range of formats available to successfully extend the brand, whilst integrating the creative with other media activity.
Driving online PR and embracing the social nature of the web
They used online PR, seeding and an advertising campaign to drive traffic to the Resident Evil Extinction website. Here, users signed up and created a competition avatar which they looked after until the day they were released onto the web into some never-seenbefore live rich media placements over a number of sites. Here, they were killed off throughout the day...until there was only one.
[back to top]
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