Even though there are many modern advertising methods to choose from these days, it doesn't automatically mean that the most up to date and technologically driven formats are the best and most cost effective to use.



There is no doubt that advertising is all around us and our acts and behaviour can sometimes be influenced by advertising on the TV, radio, traditional media formats and the internet.

Of course, they push our buttons in many different ways and the human mind can react to different designs and messages in a very focused, direct or an almost subliminal fashion. It is this diversity that makes advertising so exciting.

Some of the most modern advertising methods involve technology and it seems the next big response generator will be the format that has a certain WOW factor attached to it.

The three big players leading the way are in the areas of outdoor, mobile communications and the internet.

If you take a trip outdoors, you'll see that a lot has changed since the introduction of standard billboards on the side of the road, motorway or highway.

It is now more about positioning and impact than ever before and if you can add a highly desirable and interactive value to this, it becomes an accepted and targeted proposition for advertisers and consumers respectively.

One of the striking new formats to emerge in this area is in underground and subway stations. This digital screen format allows advertisers to show short, high quality video ads to commuters on a high definition moving canvas. What is also very exciting is the fact that advertisers can target consumers by changing campaign messages to match things like in-store promotions and other special announcements at the touch of a button. This now becomes a very powerful promotional tool for the advertiser and one that is difficult to avoid for consumers.

Not only are these ads situated on the platforms facing the passengers, but they are also located on the entire length of the adjoining wall on moving escalators. They are making an appearance in locations all over the world and can be a highly effective tool in attracting a busy, affluent, reactive and highly social audience.

With mobile communications, the concept is simple, but the impact has already been huge.

A lot of major players in the marketing and advertising game are convinced that mobile phone advertising will be the next big thing and as phones get even better online browsers, more and more people will be using them to buy, sell, communicate and generally spend enough time online to receive targeted offers from regional and national advertisers. The fact is that mobile communications equipped with GPS technology will allow advertisers to focus in on their specific targets by sending offers and messages to consumers within a very short distance of their establishment. New technology certainly plays a big hand in the main development issues here and although there are certainly opt-in rules in place, it won't be long before the ads will become part of the functionality and overall user experience.

Finally, we take a brief look at how web advertising has evolved and what we can now expect as we move into a more sophisticated and interactive marketplace.

Although the days of traditional banner advertising bringing in massive reponses seems to have gone, the standard size formats for leaderboard and skyscraper banner ads still seem to play a role in developing brand and producing a decent number of click throughs.

What seems odd is that we now refer to older online style adverts as branding or awareness ads, much in the same way as we term larger ads in magazines as corporate style advertisements.

The truth is that no ad format is producing the high click through rates we used to see when it all started in the mid to late 1990's. Back then it was a new and exciting concept and people were clicking on ads and exploring the internet at much higher 'per page to per user' levels than we are currently seeing.

It is now more about getting the targeting right on specific pages and sections rather than seeing general page impression rates on run of the mill pages. Now that more people are advertising online, they have to justify their spend by constantly providing evidence that it is not only good value but also providing a good return on investment. Most online advertising (and their providers) should now offer some form of tracking and if they can't provide buyers with stats, it is a sure sign that they are hiding something.

One of potential big players in this online marketplace is video. This format can not just capture our attention quickly, but it can also communicate messages in a way that we can understand and relate to. Although we are used to seeing graphics and animation, it is real-life footage of situations that we can relate to that will really hit the spot.

Video does this so well and with the introduction of Google video via You tube, it is now possible to closely match the video with the content of the pages we are looking at. This is just a developing strategy of a hugely successful contextual text and image ad set up that is now part of the largest ad coverage in the world.

There is no doubt that online advertising is evolving as our appetite for quick and interesting content becomes more of an issue and a main requirement. Watch this space for the next big update.