Media buyers are a demanding bunch. They have decisions to make, and in order to make informed choices they need a lot of information. They have questions aplenty. And they want answers.
Several of the most popular probes have to do with banner ads. What size is best? What should banners contain? Where should they be placed on the page? To what degree should we rely on display media, anyway? One day the banner's all but dead and the next it's being used by Chanel No. 5 to generate 7.4 million views of Brad Pitt waxing poetic about a metaphorical journey.
In fact, banners like Chanel's, which began its viral climb after appearing on the home page of NYTimes.com, leave us even more confounded. An ad's success depends on a lot of different things, from the advertiser's objectives to its past campaigns (Chanel's impressive exposure was largely due to a series of spoofs that drove viewers back to the original, as well as to previous ads). Regardless of who the advertiser is and what's being offered, there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution. Until now.
Meet the perfect banner.
At first blush it might appear a little nondescript. It doesn't streak across the site page or leave consumers clambering to forward it to their friends. It does, however, contain six of the elements most critical to a functional and effective banner ad.



Marketers have a lot of options when devising a banner ad campaign. While this is hardly the only design that works, work it does - on multiple levels, with virtually all of the qualities and characteristics a consumer could want in a display ad.
If that isn't perfection, I don't know what is.
Early Bird Rate Extended!
Nov. 4-7, 2013: This year's SES Chicago agenda focuses on aligning paid, owned and earned media to help you drive quality traffic and increase conversions.
Register today and save up to $400!
Final Early Bird deadline extended to October 11.
Tessa Wegert is an interactive media strategist with Enlighten, one of the first full-service digital marketing strategy and services agencies, serving such brands as Bioré, Bratz, Food Network, illy, Hunter Douglas, Jergens, and Olympic Paints and Stains. An industry veteran, Tessa has worked in online media buying and planning, marketing, and online copywriting since 1999. She is an active freelance writer specializing in interactive marketing who has contributed to U.S. and Canadian publications, including "USA Weekend Magazine," "Marketing Magazine," "The Globe and Mail," and "The Montreal Gazette." She is frequently quoted as an industry expert and speaks regularly at industry conferences and events.
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