Rich Media in Acquisition Campaigns: To Use or Not to Use…
By Jeff Giacchetti
As the online landscape widens, more creative choices become available to marketers. Whether it’s tune-in, acquisition, opt-in, branding, lead generation, etc. there still remains the tactical challenge of delivering the best creative possible to meet campaign objectives
For acquisition campaigns there’s a particularly fine balance between creative cost (design and delivery) and overall cost per acquisition efficiency. Thus, it makes sense to question when and where to use rich media.
In addressing this question I often advise clients that it is a matter of project scope, and dependent on a few major factors. While it’s easy to assume or accept the rationale that cooler creative correlates to higher clicks; that’s simply not true. And in the worst case scenario for a direct response buy, it could actually work negatively against you.
Not withstanding creative costs that may be associated with building rich media units or serving fees, there is still something much more important in determining whether or not to use rich media. These factors include target audience, subject content and the environment the advertisement will be placed within. Used correctly, rich media can empower your message and supercharge acquisition results. On the other hand, missing the mark on any or all of those factors will translate into wasted messages, missed opportunity and poor response rates.
One example that demonstrated this effect was seen in a campaign for an entertainment client whose target audience were parents and kids. Higher CTRs and conversion rates were recorded when we used simple straight-forward banners, rather than banners that were flashy and video-enabled. This occurred within an animated environment whereby users were asked to upload content.
While we can draw certain conclusions about the consumption behaviors of a particular demographic, and the use of simplicity in a glitzy, busy environment, the bottom line is that we achieved the greatest results by delivering our client’s message in the best format possible.
This is where experience, research, and testing plays the biggest role. From experience we know what tactics work in certain environments, from research we know how certain audiences respond to those tactics, and from testing we find truth.
The case for when to use rich media can be just as compelling as when not to use it. It could mean dramatically high or pathetically low results depending on when and where you use it. Either way these choices force us to know our target audience, subject matter and the environment before making a decision on creative format.