Honing the Art: Exploring the World of Static and HTML5 Banner Advertising

In the ever-accelerating realm of digital advertising, designers frequently encounter the Herculean task of creating captivating banner ads that not only seize attention but also convert. The question of choosing between static and animated banners is more than a matter of visual preference—it's a strategic decision hinged on performance, scalability, and cost.

The new reality in digital ads: cookieless future

A 2022 report by eMarketer suggests that by 2023, nearly 85% of digital display advertising in the United States will be transacted programmatically, highlighting the shift towards more automated and targeted advertising strategies in the face of a cookieless future. (eMarketer, "US Programmatic Digital Display Ad Spending")

With the ushering in of cookieless policies, a seismic shift has reshaped the terrain of display campaigns. The deprecation of third-party cookies, as part of a privacy-centric web movement, has indeed altered the trajectory of ad targeting and performance measurement. This pivot towards privacy has coerced media strategists to explore alternative, often more creative, solutions to reach their desired demographics.

The role of creative in overall ad campaign results

The creative quality and variety of ad content have emerged as pivotal factors in the overall success of advertising campaigns. Static banners, once the bedrock of display advertising, have been met with competition from HTML5 banners which boast dynamic visuals and the capacity to engage viewers with a narrative. The movement and interactivity in animated banners can potentially increase the ad's visibility, capturing the user's attention more effectively than their static counterparts. This visual storytelling capability is not just about aesthetics; it's a strategic move to outpace banner blindness—a phenomenon where consumers subconsciously ignore ad-like informatio
Salesforce's "State of Marketing" report from 2022 reveals that 90% of marketers agree that the ability to deliver an effective digital experience is critical to their company's success, emphasizing the importance of creative quality in the absence of third-party cookies. (Salesforce, "State of Marketing")

Leveraging data to improve ROAS

The question of how many creative variations media managers employ is nuanced and informed by data-driven strategies. According to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), campaigns with more creative variations are linked to higher engagement rates. Media managers typically harness anywhere from 5 to 10 variations, ensuring a spread of creative assets that can be optimized for different audience segments and platforms. The rationale is clear: diverse creatives prevent ad fatigue and allow for A/B testing to hone in on the most effective messaging.

Automation is a key element when we choose between static and animated banner ads

Scalability in production is a critical factor when comparing static and HTML5 banners. Static banners offer a straightforward advantage: they are simpler to produce and resize. Our customer discovery interviews revealed that resizing one static banner typically takes about 30 minutes. With tools like Figma, some designers have successfully automated the production of static banners, further streamlining the process. In stark contrast, HTML5 banners demand a heftier investment in time—about a full day per banner size. Often, this complexity necessitates collaboration with HTML developers, adding a layer to the production timeline and workflow. Yet, existing customers of Viewst report an exhilarating uptick in efficiency, speeding up animated banner production by 20-fold, leading to a gradual phasing out of static banners in their campaigns.

Time and money spent surely very when you think of static vs animated banner ads

Time is a precious commodity in the industry. The time needed to create a banner set of eight sizes for the Google Display Ad Network varies significantly between static and animated options. While static banners can be resized in a mere few hours, animated banners, as mentioned, can take up to a few weeks. Let’s not forget the process of approval and communication bottlenecks between different stakeholder.  This disparity is amplified when designers, lacking the necessary coding skills for animated banners, must seek external HTML expertise, further elongating the timeline.

Cost implications are another aspect where the two diverge. A survey of real offerings on Upwork indicates that outsourcing a static banner set of three sizes is generally more affordable than its animated counterpart. The cost difference is attributable to the higher complexity and skill set required to produce animated banners, which are not merely design tasks but also involve animation and potentially coding.

Nonetheless, the investment in animated banners might be well-justified by their performance. Conversion rates are the ultimate measure of a banner's effectiveness. Publicly available case studies show that animated banners often outperform static ones. For instance, A report from Adform's "2022 Benchmarks Report" highlights that rich media ads, which include animations, have an engagement rate that is 267% higher than standard banner ads, reinforcing the effectiveness of animated content. (Adform, "2022 Benchmarks Report")

Embracing the Future of Ad Creativity with a modern technology.

Viewst stands at the forefront of this evolution, offering a sophisticated toolkit that streamlines the creation process for animated banners. Recognizing the challenges posed by the traditional time-consuming and resource-intensive methods, Viewst harnesses automation to revolutionize banner production. By accelerating the design workflow, the platform ensures that advertisers can produce a greater variety of compelling and engaging animated banners, thereby increasing engagement rates and combating ad fatigue.

The ability to quickly adapt and iterate on creative assets is crucial in a cookieless future, where targeted and personalized content is key to capturing consumer attention. Viewst's innovative approach addresses this need, enabling teams to generate multiple banner variations with ease. This capability not only enhances the effectiveness of advertising campaigns but also allows for comprehensive A/B testing, ensuring that the most impactful messages reach the audience.

FAQ

1. How does Viewst's automation toolkit streamline the creation process for animated banners?

   Viewst's automation toolkit revolutionizes the creation process for animated banners by streamlining and accelerating the design workflow. The platform enables designers to build HTML banners using animation presets and a simple timeline. They don;t have to code at all. Another big thing, that designers can both design and animate in the same window and when they scale their designs to different ratios, all animations are copied from the original mockup, savin them hours and eliminating copy/past routines.

   
   

2. Can Viewst provide more details on how their platform accelerates the design workflow and enables the production of a greater variety of animated banners?

   Viewst's platform accelerates the design workflow by offering a sophisticated toolkit that enables the quick adaptation and iteration of creative assets. With Viewst, teams can easily generate multiple banner variations, facilitating A/B testing and ensuring that the most impactful messages reach the audience. The platform's automation capabilities enhance the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and combat ad fatigue by enabling advertisers to produce a diverse range of animated banners with ease. One of the tool, especially helpful for designers working for e-com brands - bulk generations. Designers can connect a CSV file to a Viewst animated banner and then connect specific element on a canvas to a certain column in a CSV file. Viewst will generate as many creative variations as many rows/products in your CSV file.

   
   

3. How does Viewst's approach to banner production address the challenges posed by traditional time-consuming and resource-intensive methods?

   Viewst addresses the challenges posed by traditional time-consuming and resource-intensive methods of banner production through its innovative approach. By harnessing automation, the platform significantly reduces the time and resources required to create animated banners. This eliminates the need for designers to possess coding skills or rely on external HTML expertise, streamlining the production timeline and workflow. Viewst's automation toolkit offers a cost-effective solution that increases efficiency and empowers advertisers to adapt and iterate on creative assets in a cookieless future, where targeted and personalized content is crucial for capturing consumer attention.