Banner design, most of the time, is not like a virus. It's more like a headache: sure, you know it's there, but you can't give anyone a headache just by sharing the same supply of oxygen available in a room. To be honest, banners are a rather traditional ad tool. If we think about it, they've been with us for, what now? 15 years?
Viral marketing (or buzzmarketing), on the other hand, is kind of an interesting approach. By a clever use of content, you create a promotion web around your products and services. Someone tells someone else something and the word spreads faster than gunpowder. Of couse, this is an oversimplification of the process, but the main idea is there. I'll go deeper, don't worry.
On one hand, we have a rather traditional tool. On the other, we have a random-based system that may or may not work.
Common sense would dictate: they clash. Totally.
Now, now: is that true?
An imaginary debate between Banners and Viral Marketing
Doing some research, I haven't found anything that says there is a feud between ad banners and viral marketing. Sorry, guys, no gang fight this time. You can drop your bike chains.
However, if we look close enough, we will see that, in most of the cases, there are differences between these two strategies. Allow me to demonstrate:
BANNER ADS:
- Banners create a premise that introduces the product
- Benefits for the customer are presented in a short bullet-point list
- They rely heavily on a marketing agenda and they're kind of standarized
- In most of the cases (specially when it comes to Adwords campaigns) these are meant to be displayed for a specific target.
VIRAL MARKETING:
- Viral marketing relies on a more random, freestyle rhetoric to promote products
- Sometimes, the benefits for the customer are omitted in lieu of content to be shared with others
- While viral marketing relies on a marketing agenda, results cannot be traced accurately
- Viral marketing was meant to be spread in volumes through memes (content that spreads and reproduces freely and becomes part of our culture. Product placement is the goal, at all costs
- BONUS: They rely heavily on cats doing silly things.
So, it becomes a matter of structure and purpose.
Okay... Do Banner Design and Viral Marketing Clash in ANY way?
Structurally, they do. But here's when we have to think about CONTENT!
There are many ways to promote your products. Some of the revered banner ad tactics are kind of stealth tactics (Premise, Benefit, Name of Product... CHOP CHOP!) that are necessary in order to place a product in the market properly. Once you have achieved product awareness (you're the only judge of that), you can find new, entertaining ways to show your product.
We'll get in deep on HOW to do that very soon. So stay tuned.
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