Year: 2006

The expression “expand your horizons” has unquestionably gotten a little old. Still, given some of the rich media ads I’ve seen out there lately, I think the sentiment might be worth renewed consideration.
These days, most rich media banners incorporate Flash technology to deliver product information, an offer, or a brand-building message. That, though, is where the story seems to end. If consumers want to know more, they have to click through to your site. That’s all well and good if your primary objective is to generate site traffic. But if that traffic isn’t qualified, where does the benefit lie? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pre-qualify potential customers, whether it’s a cost-per-click campaign or not?
The way to do this, of course, is to encourage interaction with your brand or product prior to securing the click. The more consumers know about what you have to offer, the better prepared they’ll be to determine whether it’s something they’re interested in. If it is, they’ll click — and most likely, convert. That’s where expandable banners come into play.
Expandable banners allow us to break out from the confines of a standard banner to provide consumers with much more than was previously possible. That goes for everything from the amount of information that can be included in an ad, to the ability to pre-qualify consumers in what can essentially be a re-creation of your actual site environment.