What is Display Advertising?

Display advertising is a specific type of digital advertising that involves the use of clickable visual advertisements on websites, apps, and social media platforms. Display ads are fundamental to how brands capture the attention of modern audiences and are a key part of almost any modern digital marketing strategy.

What are the main types of display ads?

Broadly speaking, display ads can be broken down into five main types. These are:

• Banner ads: Perhaps the most common of all display ad types, banner ads are rectangular ads that appear at the top, bottom, or sidebar sections of a page. They typically take the form of fixed images and tend to incorporate vivid designs and calls to action.
• Video ads: Video ads, as the name suggests, incorporate video content as a way to catch the attention of users. These ads can be embedded in a page, similar to a banner ad, and on streaming and video-sharing platforms, they can be incorporated with existing video content as pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll ads.
• Rich media ads: Rich media ads are those that use advanced media features, incorporating multimedia elements such as audio, video, images, and animations. These ads are often interactive and encourage users to take certain actions, such as responding to questions or prompts, in order to drive engagement.
• Interstitial ads: Interstitial advertisements are full-screen ads that appear on a user’s screen independently of the page they are viewing. They most commonly appear as pop-ups at moments of transition in the user experience, such as when exiting a section of a site or moving from one page to another. These ads aim for high impact by actively reaching out to the user in a direct manner.
• Native ads: Native ads are ones that have been designed specifically for a particular site or platform. They feature the same aesthetic as the hosting platform and blend in with editorial content to maintain a smooth, cohesive experience that appeals to the user base of the publisher.

What are the advantages of display ads?

Display advertising is widely used because it offers a range of significant advantages. These include the following:

• Cost-effectiveness: Display ads can be deployed on a wide variety of different platforms, meaning means that advertisers have the flexibility to purchase ad space via numerous pricing models, such as cost per mille (CPM), cost per click (CPC), and cost per acquisition, among others. This enables advertisers to achieve their marketing goals more easily while staying within their budget. 
• Extensive reach: Since there is a wide range of suitable platforms where display ads can be deployed, they offer brands an easy way to branch out to different audiences, target new demographics, and boost brand awareness.

• Brand recognition: Display ads are highly visually engaging. This means that they are highly effective at capturing the attention of users, which is ideal for sending key messages and building brand recognition at scale.
• Versatility: Display ads are highly customizable and dynamic. They can be used to target specific audience groups according to interests or behaviors and to communicate a wide variety of messages for different purposes, whether that’s building brand awareness, driving conversions, or re-engaging customers.
• Trackability: The performance of display ads can be easily tracked to determine the number of impressions, clicks, and conversions they generate. This means that advertisers can easily gain actionable insights about how to adjust and optimize their campaigns for better ROI.