The quest for transparency is paying dividends for mobile marketers. Following the investment in making measurement improvements, mobile is now the star player in the Australian advertising game.
Online advertising spend peaked at a record $7.4 billion in 2016, the fastest year-on-year growth in the past five years (IAB/PwC). Mobile advertising, accounts for $1.96 billion of the total market, growing 72% from 2014 to 2015, and has hit 50% of General Display advertising (IAB).
We predict advertisers will continue to push more cash towards mobile, and expect to see both buyers and sellers wanting to optimise their mobile inventory and campaigns. With mobile dominance looking likely, it’s imperative for modern marketers to ensure a solid ROI. Here are six tips to ensure your mobile advertising dollars are giving you bang for your buck.
Step 1: Get rid of non-viewable advertising
It’s common sense, don’t pay for ads that are unlikely to ever be seen. An ad needs to be on screen for 14 seconds to have any chance of being looked at (Inskin). Improving viewability is a crucial first step to ensuring your investment isn’t wasted. While smaller ad formats hit viewability benchmarks more easily, larger formats achieve higher engagement. There are great tools out there for larger formats - from responsive design creative that automatically adapts to screen size, to technology that enable ads to scroll with the user - let’s use them.
Step 2: Go large, size matters
Different formats and ad environments demand vastly different levels of attention. Larger ad formats, especially page takeovers, are looked at for a significantly longer period than smaller ones (Inskin). Another noteworthy factor is the number of simultaneously displayed ads - in cluttered environments, the time spent looking at individual ads drops by 37%.
Step 3: Digital creative needs to up it’s game
Beauty speaks. Powerful strategy flies out the window if the creative doesn’t catch the user’s eye. Visual attention time on a format can more than double depending on creative execution (Inskin). Even if an ad is viewable, it still must be worth a glance to be effective. Particularly on smartphone where advertising needs to grab the user’s interest within a short window.
Step 4: Deliver in the right context
Relevant ads are 33% less likely to be perceived as annoying and advertising is perceived as more trustworthy when delivered on high quality websites (InSkin). The likelihood for a user to click on an ad increases by 37% in trustworthy ad environments. Don’t waste money on ads placed in the wrong context.
Step 5: Integration isn’t a buzzword
Thinking “mobile only” is a missed opportunity, mobile must still integrate with other channels. Leverage your existing assets and streamline your online campaigns with a cross-device approach. A fully integrated cross-device campaign with device optimised creative has the advantage of reaching the user in various different usage situations, increasing the likelihood of the user being receptive.
Step 6: Don’t be creepy, keep the user front and centre
Let’s be frank, mobile ads can be painful, especially the non-skippable variety, ones with elements that obscure content, or where the close button is hidden. Endless retargeting is annoying and sometimes even creepy. Let’s not annoy the consumer. If we deliver a video ad as autoplay, then it should at least be without sound. If we insist on hiding content through interstitial formats, then they should be easy to close.
Rather than directing away from the content a user is attempting to read by hyperlinking entire banners, a microsite is a useful tool for displaying additional content. It allows interaction and can direct those willing to learn more to the desired destination.
Mobile advertising, if done right, can be an invaluable tool to the savvy marketer.
By InSkin Media Australia GM Matt Newcomb