Unit Verse

One Bad Ad Ruins It for All Advertisers

• by Andy 11 months ago
• 3 Comments

I noticed something this morning with my online reading behavior that is probably not unique and it brings up an interesting issue regarding on-page marketing. Whenever I’m on a newspaper or magazine website or blog trying to read an article and there is an animated ad on the page, I become instantly annoyed as it distracts me from what I’m trying to do (read). Instead of doing what advertisers want me to do—have a look at the animated ad and perhaps become interested—I merely click my Readability tool to get rid of everything except the article text and images.

One result of this action is that I now have a pleasant reading experience, free from visual distractions. Another result is that all of the ads on the page disappear. In essence, one intolerably distracting animated ad spoils the chances for it and every other advertiser on the page. I will see none of the ads and be exposed to none of the sales pitches, offers, announcements, branding, or other attempts to capture my attention or sway my interest. And yet advertisers are paying good money that has now been wasted …all because of one idiotic animated ad.

I think this poses an interesting and perhaps grave issue for advertisers and publications. If I’m not alone in my preference to consume articles without visual/animated distraction (and I’m not), there’s a lot of money being flushed down the toilet by advertisers. If your ad appears on a page that also has animated ads, you’re likely wasting much of your advertising dollars. If you’re a publication owner and your serve up animated ads on your pages, you’re rendering a certain percentage of your other advertisers’ chances moot.

If I were a merchant purchasing ads in online publications, I would demand that no animated ads appear on the pages where my ads appear. Or I would take my marketing budget elsewhere.