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It is popular knowledge that broadband users are online
for longer periods, visit more new sites and view more
rich media content than their dial-up counterparts.
Equally important is the fact that broadband users have
faster downloads and can watch streaming media that
is played in real time. A lot has been said about the
importance of broadband and its impact on Internet marketing.
However, not much has been spoken about the newer technologies
that are circumventing bandwidth issues without compromising
on user experience.
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Amidst all the bandwidth euphoria, a few companies have
quietly developed creative enhancing technologies that
deliver rich and streaming media ads seamlessly irrespective
of the type of connectivity. The underlying objective
is to incorporate the broadcast quality of television
with the interactivity and measurability of the web.
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Let us face it. The average click rate for online creatives
is about 0.6%. So, even with a great website, only a
miniscule number of people actually end up seeing the
product offering. Hence, marketers need to place maximum
information about their offering upfront on the creative
itself. To some extent flash and other creative formats
tackled these issues. However, file weight constraints
and the need for specific software players at the user
end meant that their reach and effectiveness within
the web remained small.
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Creative enhancing technologies effectively tackle these
problems. They allow a file size of upto 1 mb, which
is manifolds higher than the current servable weights.
They are attractive, effective, browser independent
and yet non intrusive. Consider this: You have a Television
commercial and want to extend its viewership to the
online audience. You deploy a technology that plays
an in-page video on a regular 300x250 Large Rectangle
Banner. The commercial keeps playing by itself as the
user browses through the webpage. At a mouse roll over
it expands to full screen. It plays audio and video
at near broadcast quality irrespective of the browser
or any software plug-ins. It is a virtual extension
of a TV campaign on the web. Clients can track Reach,
conduct brand recall studies and also target and optimize
their inventory dynamically.
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Some of the other technologies create multiple shells
within the creative. By clicking on the linked shells
the user can access different screens without even leaving
the ad unit. The second layer loads when the user is
viewing the first one, so bandwidth constraints are
well taken care of. Again the product plays on most
machines irrespective of plug-ins or browser version.
These units act like micro-sites in themselves so clients
need not spend their media monies on driving traffic
to their website anymore. |
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These technologies have opened the doors for
film marketers to promote their films online. It is
now possible to show film trailers within a creative.
Part of the creative could be some brand communication
while part of the ad is playing a video. It’s
a great opportunity for television channels to promote
their upcoming shows by integrating streaming media
in their communication.
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