Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
Author: vmr
-
Catholic Advertising Principles: The Cultural Benefits of Advertising
A series exploring Catholic principles for advertising
The Pontifical Council for Social Communications’ document, Ethics in Advertising, provides a useful ethical frame of reference for individuals and organizations, regardless of their religious affiliation. The report looks at the profound impact of advertising – harms and benefits – and highlights moral principles and norms that can help to ensure its impact is positive rather than negative.
As for the benefits of advertising, the document discusses economic benefits, cultural benefits, benefits of political advertising and moral and religious benefits.
I’d like to take a closer look at the cultural benefits of advertising by quoting from that section of the document:
” Because of the impact advertising has on media that depend on it for revenue, advertisers have an opportunity to exert a positive influence on decisions about media content. This they do by supporting material of excellent intellectual, aesthetic and moral quality presented with the public interest in view, and particularly by encouraging and making possible media presentations which are oriented to minorities whose needs might otherwise go unserved.”
“Moreover, advertising can itself contribute to the betterment of society by uplifting and inspiring people and motivating them to act in ways that benefit themselves and others. Advertising can brighten lives simply by being witty, tasteful and entertaining. Some advertisements are instances of popular art, with a vivacity and elan all their own.”
There are, therefore, two primary cultural benefits according to Ethics in Advertising, the first of which is the impact advertising has on supporting quality media content with the public interest in view.
This is a point worth considering for organizations who are only thinking of advertising as a means of self- or brand-promotion. The best advertising, if aligned with Catholic principles, is always done with the public interest, hopefully served by the media where the ads appear, in mind.
As an advertiser, you have the opportunity to be a patron of the common good – through the media outlets your ad dollars support. -
Digital Advertising Impression Viewability Explained
A brief introduction to digital advertising impression viewability and how it works
This video explains how viewability works.
-
Introduction to StoryBrand
The StoryBrand framework can transform your marketing
Everyone loves a good story. What if you could make use of the power of storytelling in your digital marketing and advertising, to communicate more clearly and effectively? What if doing so could help you get better results? The video below provides a great introduction to the power of the StoryBrand framework to help you do exactly that.
-
Top 5 Digital Advertising Mistakes & Lessons Learned
Unrealistic expections and poor planning top the list
Over the last ten years, I’ve had the opportunity to work on digital ad campaigns for universities, book publishers, films, charities, and local businesses. In that time, I’ve made my share of mistakes and learned lessons from those mistakes along the way. Here are five of the many mistakes I made and the lessons you can learn from them.
-
Unrealistic Expectations
This is number one for a reason. When I first started planning and executing digital ad campaigns, I expected that the ads would result in immediate sales. I thought the process went something like this: 1. See an ad. 2. Click on the ad. 3. Buy the product promoted in the ad. That’s direct response advertising, right? I learned the hard way that it doesn’t quite work like that. Not by a long shot. Getting results from advertising takes extensive planning, effective creative and repeat exposure. Although the tactics of digital advertising are vastly different from offline advertising, the fundamentals – despite what others may say – remain the same.
-
Poor Planning
Speaking of planning, with most of my campaigns, I only had a Plan A and typically that was to sell something like a book or a ticket to an event or a donation opportunity. The reality is that most people don’t click…
Read this post in its entirety at https://www.catholicmarketing.com/content/873884/1/top-5-digital-advertising-mistakes-and-lessons-learned
-
-
How to Improve Banner Ad Click Thru Rates
Three tips to Boost Banner Ad Performance
So you’ve been running a display ad campaign and you’re click thru rate is lower than you’d like it to be. What to do? Here are three tips for boosting click thru rates on display ad banners:
- Add animation
- Add a clear call to action button
- Split test different creative variations
Regarding 1 and 2, if you have a designer on staff, I highly recommend using either bannersnack.com or canva.com. Both are super easy to use. Bannersnack will allow you to create fully animated html5 banners with solid call to action buttons that are (this is very important) fully compliant with ad serving platforms like the one we use to allow proper click tracking.Bannersnack recently introduced a super nifty “Magic Animator” that makes the process of animating your banners incredibly easy.As for Tip #3, it’s always a good idea to create slightly different variations of your ad concept because ads servers where your display ads run typically have the ability to automatically allocate more impressions to the ad version that is getting the best click thru rate. (Be sure to ask the ad sales rep of the publisher if they can enable CTR performance optimization).
So, for example, you might split test- a call to action button where the wording is “Learn More” vs. “Click here”
- a photo where the people are looking at each other vs. a photo where the people are looking at the person viewing the ad
- video in the ad, instead of a photo (this is referred to as an in banner video ad)
Canva is somewhat similar to bannersnack but does not allow you to create fully animated html5 banner ads. Instead, canva allows you to create more simple gif animations. The main issue you will run into when using Canva is that the file size of the gif animations you create will be larger than the recommended 100 – 150 KB file weight for display ads. This file weight issue is the main reason, advertisers have moved toward html5 animations which are able to pack Flash-like animation into very small file sizes. As for Flash, it is no longer an option for display ads since modern browsers no longer support the display of flash ads.
If you need help with design and development, VMR can definitely do it very quickly and effectively. Or we can provide banner design consulting to give you feedback and suggestions to improve your designs in accordance with your brand guidelines.
- Add animation
-
Focus on Traffic Optimization, Not Sales CRO
Avoid the rabbit hole of Sales CRO
It sounds simple enough but it’s easier said than done: If you want to drive optimal conversion results for a digital ad campaign, focus on the factors that will help you deliver those conversion results. In digital advertising, like it or not, the most important factor affecting results couldn’t be simpler. It’s traffic and non-sales conversion events, not sales conversions.
Read the rest on Medium here. -
Facebook’s New Lead Generation Ad Format
Facebook just launched a new ad type called Lead Generation ads. I really like this because it makes the process of filling out forms much easier for mobile users in particular and Facebook has done a nice job of addressing the privacy concerns of people who see these ads. Regarding ease of use, if you […] The post Facebook’s New Lead Generation Ad Format appeared first on VMR. Facebook’s New Lead Generation Ad Format was first posted on October 27, 2015 at 4:41 pm.©2015 “VMR”. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at hugh@vmrcommunications.com
Facebook just launched a new ad type called Lead Generation ads. I really like this because it makes the process of filling out forms much easier for mobile users in particular and Facebook has done a nice job of addressing the privacy concerns of people who see these ads. Regarding ease of use, if you need to collect an email address in the form, it is auto-populated from the Facebook users profile so they do not need to complete that part of the form. As for privacy, according to a recent post by Facebook,
You’re probably wondering what types of questions you can ask in your lead form. And the answer is that the sky is the limit…You can use the pre-built question fields or create your own custom questions.
Here’s an example ad:
Check out this post from Digital Marketer which has more information about this new ad type and the opportunity it presents for Catholic marketers with direct response advertising objectives.
Specs can be found here:
http://www.catholicaudiencenetwork.com/facebook-lead-generation-ad-creative-specs.html
There’s also a nice introductory video and video screenshare of exactly what the user experience looks like that you can view on Facebook’s site here as well.
January 2016 UPDATE:
We’re now able to set up an integration between various email providers such as Mailchimp (as well as CRM providers such as Salesforce) and Facebook Lead Ads so that leads that Facebook collects for you through the Lead Gen campaign are automatically synchronized (via the Facebook advertising API) each day between Facebook’s servers and your Mailchimp, Salesforce.com or other account.
In case you’re wondering, here are the Lead Ads terms of service as of September 14, 2015
Lead Ad Terms
Facebook provides a feature that enables you to run an advertising unit which allows a Facebook user to provide their email address or other user information to you (“Lead Ads”). By clicking “Accept” and using this feature, you agree to the following:
A. You are solely responsible for ensuring that each Lead Ad submitted by you complies with the SRR (as defined below, including the Facebook Advertising Policies located at https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads, which includes the Lead Ads Policy, and the Facebook Platform Policy located at https://developers.facebook.com/policy/) and all applicable laws, rules and regulations (including providing all necessary disclosures to Facebook Users). If you are accepting these terms on behalf of a third party, you represent and warrant that you have the authority as agent to such party to use such feature on their behalf and bind such party to these terms.
B. You will ensure that each Lead Ad includes the following disclosures to Facebook users: (i) all disclosures necessary and sufficient to comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including any necessary offer terms promoted in the Lead Ad (e.g., criteria to qualify, expiration date, or limitations on redemption) (“Offer Terms”); (ii) a clear and prominent disclosure that if a user submits data to you through a Lead Ad, such data will be governed by your privacy policy; and (iii) a link to your privacy policy. You will further ensure that no Lead Ads will be targeted to any minors.
C. “Lead Ad Data” means the information that a Facebook user elects to send to you through a Lead Ad, which may consist of such Facebook user’s email address and any additional user information.
D. You may only use the Lead Ad Data in accordance with your privacy policy and any Offer Terms, consents, or additional terms and conditions agreed to by the Facebook user when agreeing to provide Lead Ad Data to you through the Lead Ads. If you are receiving Lead Ad Data on behalf of an advertiser, you may only use or share such Lead Ad Data on such advertiser’s behalf and you may not augment, commingle, or supplement such Lead Ad Data with any other data from any other advertiser. You may only use the Lead Ad Data in accordance with these terms, the Facebook Advertising Policies, and all applicable laws, rules and regulations (including all applicable data privacy, advertising, telemarketing or other laws, including without limitation, as applicable, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and its implementing regulations, 47 U.S.C. § 227 and 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200 and the Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 310, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 and its implementing regulations, 15 U.S.C. § 103 and 16 C.F.R. Part 316)).
E. You may not sell Lead Ad Data under any circumstances, and you may not transfer Lead Ad Data except as explicitly provided in the next sentence. Subject to your privacy policy, these terms, any Offer Terms, and your compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, Facebook is not restricting you from transferring Lead Ad Data with an Affiliate, franchisee or third party acting solely on your behalf to fulfill the purpose for which the Lead Ad Data was collected (as described to the user at the point of collection). In the event you share Lead Ad Data with an Affiliate, franchisee or third party acting on your behalf, you do so solely at your own risk and you will ensure that any such Affiliate, franchisee or third party complies with these terms and all applicable laws, rules and regulations. “Affiliate” means an entity which, directly or indirectly, owns or controls, is owned or is controlled by or is under common ownership or control with you.
F. You will have in place appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect Lead Ad Data against accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure or access, and which provide a level of security appropriate to the risk represented by the processing and the nature of the data to be protected. Lead Ad Data may be made available to you through protocols specified by Facebook (including Facebook APIs), and your use of such protocols must comply with Facebook’s Platform Policy.
G. You will not use Lead Ad Data in connection with any SMS, MMS, or other short code programs.
H. Facebook may modify, suspend or terminate access to, or discontinue the availability of, the Lead Ads feature at any time. You may discontinue your use of the Lead Ads feature at any time.
These terms govern your use of the Lead Ads feature. They do not replace any terms applicable to your purchase of advertising inventory from Facebook (including but not limited to the Facebook Advertising Policies), and such terms will continue to apply. This Lead Ads feature is part of “Facebook” under Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms, the “SRR”), and your use of the Lead Ads feature is deemed part of your use of, and actions on, “Facebook.” In the event of any express conflict between these terms and the SRR, these terms will govern solely with respect to your use of the Lead Ads feature and solely to the extent of the conflict. Facebook reserves the right to monitor or audit your compliance with these terms and to update these terms from time to time, and your continued use of this feature constitutes acceptance of those changes.
Last Modified September 14, 2015The post Facebook’s New Lead Generation Ad Format appeared first on VMR.
-
Display Advertising: Is 0.1% a Good Click Thru Rate?
For a display advertising campaign, 0.1% is a respectable click thru rate. That works out to 1 click per 1000 ad displays. Facebook ads often generate click thru rates that are much higher than that but keep in mind that you need to take Facebook’s click thru stats with a grain of salt as they count a lot of events as clicks that one would not typically consider to be a click which artificially inflates Facebook click thru rate numbers.
Google happens to have a terrific resource for evaluating how well your ad campaign is doing in relation to campaigns from other organizations in the same industry. You can view display benchmarks according to Google here.
-
Social Ads More Effective Than Search Ads For Product Discovery
A May 2013 research study conducted by Forrester Research and commissioned by Google Wildfire indicates that social ads are potentially more effective for brands looking to reach new customers. You can request a copy of the study by clicking here. Survey respondents were asked “Which of the following ways do you typically discover or find […] The post Social Ads More Effective Than Search Ads For Product Discovery appeared first on VMR. Social Ads More Effective Than Search Ads For Product Discovery was first posted on September 27, 2013 at 1:46 am.©2015 “VMR”. Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at hugh@vmrcommunications.com
A May 2013 research study conducted by Forrester Research and commissioned by Google Wildfire indicates that social ads are potentially more effective for brands looking to reach new customers. You can request a copy of the study by clicking here.
Survey respondents were asked “Which of the following ways do you typically discover or find out about new products, brands, or services?”
Thirty-four percent said “Internet searches via search engines”, while a whopping 41% (a higher rate than all other responses) said “Seeing ads on social networks.”
This study suggests that social ads can in some cases be more effective than search ads for brands looking to increase market share by attracting new customers.
The study also suggests an ad campaign on social networks, like Facebook, can be a more effective tactic for improving product awareness than other popular tactics such as wall posts, email ads, and display ads.
Have you read this study? What do you find to be interesting about the research? Does it surprise you that social ads seem to outperform search ads (SEM).
The post Social Ads More Effective Than Search Ads For Product Discovery appeared first on VMR.
Social Ads More Effective Than Search Ads For Product Discovery