Advertising
When you hear the word advertising, what comes to mind? Do you think of banner ads on your favorite website? Those hilarious Super Bowl commercials? The billboards along the highway or posters in the subway stations? While most of us have a pretty good idea of what advertising looks like, we often struggle to nail down exactly what it means — and how to do it well. From the printing press to pop-up ads, advertising has certainly changed with the times. Despite this, though, the need for advertising hasn’t changed, and neither have the techniques and best practices that make for quality advertising. That’s what we’ll cover in this guide. Advertising is one of the oldest types of marketing and aims to influence the actions of its audience to buy, sell, or do something else. Good advertising is designed to be extremely influential, memorable, and, at times, risqué. But, how…
Recently, I was scrolling online and I came across an ad for Narcos. While I can easily ignore most banner ads online, this one stood out. It included interesting videos and animation. This was a prime example of rich media ads. A rich media ad is an excellent, modern ad format for marketers to consider. In fact, one 2018 study found that rich media ads outperform standard banner ads by 267%. With statistics like that, it’s time to consider incorporating these ads into your paid media strategy. Below, let’s discuss what rich media ads are and how they’re different from other ad formats. Then, we’ll review how to create one for your company and look at some examples to inspire your own ad campaigns. Rich media ads usually take much more time, effort, and capital to create. Why? Well, a static ad typically includes only three elements: An image, a…
And just like that, another year is (almost) in the books. As marketers begin to map out their 2022 marketing plans, it’s the perfect time to dust off the crystal ball and predict what will shape the industry over the coming year. There’s certainly a lot to consider — the continuing impact of the global pandemic, the massive shift to digital advertising, and the rise of platforms like TikTok — to name a few. Simply put, what worked for your marketing strategy in the past might not fly in 2022. Ready to explore the future of marketing? Let’s look at all different types of advertising, and the 6 types brands are investing in this year. 1. Video Advertising As marketers look for innovative ways to engage audiences, video has become an integral part of the conversation. Video advertising uses videos to promote products and services, educate or entertain consumers, and…
It’s been several months since Apple’s iOS 14 update went into effect and the dust has begun to settle. One of the main questions has been, “How are advertisers handling the mobile tracking changes?” Earlier this year, we talked about how this change could impact advertisers, but now, we want to follow up. Have any new strategies evolved? What have advertisers been doing to reach their target audiences? In this post, we’ll discuss how advertisers have navigated the iOS 14 mobile tracking changes and give you a few tips on how to have continued success with social media and online advertising. Wait, what happened with the iOS 14 update? To summarize, at the beginning of 2021 Apple released a new update that would impact the way that advertisers reach their audience. With the iOS 14 update users needed to opt-in, or give permission, to an app to track their activity…
As a marketer, we’ve been talking about personalization and responsive advertising for some time now. And that trend isn’t going away. In 2019, 72% of display ads were responsive (more than double what they found just two years previous). Additionally, the ways people search are changing. Google found that 15% of search queries every day are new searches they’ve never seen before. That’s why starting June 30, 2022, responsive search ads will be the only search ad type that can be created or edited in Google standard search campaigns. The goal is that this change will help simplify the way you create search ads and make it easier to drive performance. To prepare for this upcoming change, let’s discuss what responsive search ads are and the best practices for creating them. The goal is to show a different combination of titles and descriptions for different users depending on their unique…
After 2020, there were big expectations for what 2021 could bring. Some predicted lower Black Friday sales as supply chains struggle to meet demand. Others said 2021 would bring record numbers. As an advertiser, you might want to learn more about growing online purchasing behaviors – and how you can leverage them in 2022. Below, we’ll highlight what we learned from polling 300+ consumers after this Black Friday. Then, we’ll present a few consumer behavior predictions you’ll need to know about when determining your 2022 Black Friday ad strategy. What We Learned About Black Friday Shoppers in 2021 To help marketers discover more about the consumer behaviors behind Black Friday’s 2021 results, I surveyed a pool of more than 300 people using Lucid Software. The goal was to learn what led them to engage with or purchase products in Black Friday ads. Here’s what we learned from our results. 1.…
2021 was a big year with advertisers, as they managed the remnants of the COVID-19 crisis and pandemic along with growing data privacy concerns. So, how exactly did advertisers fare in terms of strategy, challenges, and ad spend? To help you prepare for your 2022 strategy, we’ve gathered 27 stats. You’ll learn which strategies advertisers are leveraging today, which ones they plan to invest in, and the challenges they faced and may face in 2022. Current Ad Strategies 84% of marketers’ companies run marketing campaigns and for 42% of respondents, advertising products is one of their main goals. (HubSpot Blog Research) This year, print advertising was a low priority for marketers, with only 19% of marketers leveraging it. It was also one of the least effective channels for advertisers. (HubSpot Blog Research) Paid social is a top paid channel for marketers. (HubSpot Blog Research) In terms of account-based marketing (ABM),…
Remember when “surfing the net” meant traversing a minefield of unwelcome pop-up ads? When “digital advertising” referred almost exclusively to obnoxious flashing banners and random sidebar ads? Online ads have matured a lot since those days, but it’s still important to look back at the flashy, gaudy, sometimes messy origins of internet advertising to better understand where we’re headed — and where there’s still room for improvement. Check out a condensed history of online advertising below. The History of Online Advertising 1994: The first banner ads appear Image credit: Wired On October 27, 1994, the world of advertising was forever transformed by a small graphic bearing the presumptive words, “Have you ever clicked your mouse right here? You will,” in a kitschy rainbow font. The age of banner ads had officially begun. You can thank (or blame?) Wired magazine’s former online off-shoot HotWired for introducing the world to the enduringly ubiquitous…
There’s nothing worse than an ad that keeps popping up for something you’d never buy. About 39% of internet users agree, feeling that online ads aren’t relevant to them. So it’s no wonder that one in four people will leverage some sort of ad blocker in 2021. An ad blocker is software that’s meant to improve a user’s online experience by removing or changing digital ads. It’s designed to make browsing simpler, so you don’t have a giant flashing ad taking up half the screen while you research customers and spy on a competitor’s latest product launch. Still, digital advertising is on the rise. Global digital ad spend is expected to exceed $455 billion this year, which means an increase in the number of banner, display, and news feed ads. This barrage is pushing more internet users toward ad blocking tools so they can shop and scroll in peace. To…
Advertising is changing — in 2021, companies are on track to spend more than $450 billion dollars on digital advertising. The challenge? Massive variety in the digital advertising market — from differing platforms and ad types to target audiences — can frustrate efforts to capture customer interest and drive ROI. How do you choose the right medium to promote your platform? What metrics matter? And once you decide, how do you actually make the ad? Our comprehensive ad-making guide has you covered. Let’s go. Featured Resource: Advertising Planning Templates & Kit To make your advertising planning easier, use HubSpot’s free Advertising Planning Kit. Included are templates to help you plan and present your ad pitch, schedule your release dates, and inform your stakeholders. We’ve also thrown in an advertising best practices guide to help you choose the advertising method that works best for your business. 1. Choose Your Target Audience…