Display Ads still have a place in online marketing

Not being a big fan of online display ads because of their intrusive nature affecting my web experience, I do see them as a useful tactic if used properly.

The use of widgets embedded in display ads can be a powerful tool when used for Ecommerce.

What better way to be in the right place at the right time with a "billboard" that actually gives the user the ability to act on a piece of creative. I'm not talking about simply clicking on a call-to-action, but more along the lines of putting the user directly into the sales funnel before even landing on the site.

ROI for the ads can easily be tracked as an assist to the conversion more easily since the user will be passing real data from the ad unit directly into the destination site. 

Rather than reporting on impressions and Click-thru-rates, you have some real data that you can learn from.

An example would be if I were to see an ad for 1800Flowers on some website 4 days prior to mothers day. The ads creative is intended to act as a reminder that I don't have much time left and if I act now I can get rushed delivery for free. At the bottom by the call-to-action there is an input box where I can enter in the delivery zip code. That in-turn will put me directly into the websites shopping path where I would select the flowers I would want to send. Then I simply check-out. See, right place at the right time and non-intrusive.

Stewart Severino
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