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NONE: ONLINE-ADS>> U of Michigan Ad Banner Placement Study
ONLINE-ADS>> U of Michigan Ad Banner Placement Study
Sunil Gupta (sgupta_at_umich.edu)
Tue, 29 Apr 1997 11:37:23 -0400
As the prof. for whose course this study was done, it is gratifying to
see that it has generated some interest among thoughtful people on this
discussion list. The critiques that have been presented here generally
make valid points (although I naturally cringe at the brickbats directed
our way). Here is what I think this study, and the ensuing discussion
imply:
First, we need to do systematic studies of the factors that affect
banner ad effectiveness. Among others, this includes more careful
analysis of:
a) measures other than just clickthroughs,
b) classification of respondents by level of interest in product
category (do clever animations and unusual as positions increase
response among the real "prospects", or just among the less productive
"suspects")
c) the attention getting characteristics of a banner ad, such as
animation, novelty, size, positioning relative to other objects on the
same page, etc.
d) the relative impact of a banner ad when a person is in browsing mode
versus in a search mode (e.g., do banner ads placed on search engines
where people are looking for sites have a different impact from those
placed on destination site pages, where people are probably more
interested in reading the content)
e) the methodology used by the studies reported online. This should
permit a systematic meta-analysis once a sufficiently large number of
studies have been performed. While my students could have done better,
I think they did a pretty good job in describing study details, warts
and all.
Second, taken in conjunction with other banner ad studies, the results
of this study may well imply that doing something unusual gets people's
attention (boy, is that a surprise!). If that is indeed the case, it
seems to me that the online advertising industry's efforts at
standardizing banner sizes, etc. are misplaced. If everyone is using
standard banners, the incentive to do the unusual should be even
greater. And, as a smart advertiser, I would gladly give up operational
efficiency, for significantly more effective results. Further, given
how little we know of the possible types of banners that can/will be
created and the rate at which the technology itself is changing,
attempts to decree standards at this stage are probably premature.
As an academic I add my voice to those who have asked for more
systematic studies and comparisons of banner advertising effectiveness.
In fact, if you have a site that would like to participate in such
studies with us, please feel free to get in touch with me at
sgupta_at_umich.edu. Finally, I thank Athenia Associates
(http://www.webreference.com) for letting students "meddle with their
primary source of operating revenue". As Mr. Welch points out, this is
valuable and uncommon.
Sunil Gupta
Director, HERMES Project
University of Michigan Business School
http://www.hermes.bus.umich.edu/mkt745/
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