Usable Clicks

Why Non-Standard Ads Should Be The Exception Not the Rule

Earlier this month, the Online Publishers Association announced that a broad set of its members would be adopting new larger ad units. The initial list of participants is fairly impressive, including more than 2 dozen top tier publishers such as CNN, The NY Times, WSJ Network and ESPN. The full list of publishers reaches over 66% of the total Internet audience, or roughly 108 million  visitors. These heavy hitters are adding some truly massive units to their arsenal of ad units.

• The “Fixed Panel” – a 336×860 pixel banner. It’s wider than standard skyscraper and follows users as they scroll down the page.
• The “XXL” – a 468×648 pixel box with expandable video capability.
• The “Pushdown” – a 970×418 pixel unit that takes up over half of a page before rolling up.

There’s little doubt that these ads performed in tests leading to rollout. On a limited basis I’m sure they resulted in a lift in CTR, engagement, and possibly even conversions or transactions. It’s hard to disagree with the OPA’s intent to foster innovation and efficacy in the online space, but this particular move is a dangerous one that could easily backfire in the long term.

Brand Integrity Evicted, Desperation Moves In -
An expandable masthead might work on the frontpage of YouTube, but users on the WSJ who are simply looking for the latest market news or stock quote would likely take offense to a massive 468×648 with expandable video capabilities. The average user can’t tell the difference between most remnant ads and a premium buy, but they’ll certainly notice publishers trying to take advantage of them for a giant expandable dollar or two.

Innovation’s Plateau -
These ads might be testing well initially, but at some point the novelty will wear off for users, and the innovation that seemed to flow so freely at the onset may wean to nothing. IGN is a perfect example. Years ago, its homepage used to foster cool integrated, synched executions. But Guitar Hero’s latest craziness proves that plateau, or rather infinite valley, does exist. Instead of creating an innovative mini-game or a browse-able soundtrack library, all we get is a standard 728×90 sitting on top of a 300×600, with a skin plastered in the background. Try not to miss the two giant “buy the game now” buttons.

The more standard a unit becomes, the less time advertisers spend thinking about ways to innovate within it. If clients or publishers can’t think of a more creative way to utilize 600,000+ pixels (educated guess), where is the medium as a whole going?

Passing the Buck, All The Way to UX -
These new ad units aren’t cheap, which is likely the main reason the OPA has decided to standardize them. Brands are being more frugal with their media dollars, and publishers are feeling the pinch. These new units create a new revenue stream for publishers, while creating extremely high impact placements for advertisers. But users are the ones who suffer in the end, as they have to wade through giant scrolling pushdown units to simply get to their breaking news, stock quote, or weather forecast. The OPA argues that this initiative will potentially help reduce clutter by decreasing the total number of ads on a page, but is a 970×418 any less intrusive or clutter-free than a few LRECs? (As a reference, the 468×648 “XXL” unit is 4x a traditional 300×250)

Standardizing these types of units doesn’t have to spell disaster for all parties involved though:

• The medium is interactive, use it. The Haunting In Connecticut “crosstalk ad unit,” may have been massive, but it certainly didn’t lack in the innovation department, providing users with a unique interaction.

• Create scarcity. Limiting the number of these “non-standard” units you sell in a month, or frequency cap a pushdown to 1x UU per day will help mitigate user burnout or creative fatigue.

• Be conscience of your brands integrity. Just because an advertiser has budget doesn’t mean they should be allowed to spend it. Make sure they are relevant to your users and your content. You may not be able to control remnant 300×250’s, but you can turn down a blinking LowerMyBills masthead.

Everyone knows the online market isn’t booming, but I doubt if any of the OPA members are at the point of desperation yet. There are less intrusive and more creative ways to foster innovation than just cranking up the pixel sizes, but that’s a topic for another conversation.