Six tips for effective buying rich media ads

StrikeAds' Alex Rahaman reveals how real time bidding can help.

As most ME readers will know, the mobile ad space is being transformed by rich media.

These new formats make advertising on advanced devices like smartphones and tablets much more effective by using video, accelerometer, touch and more to improve user engagement.

Last month we teamed up with Celtra – one of the pioneers of the rich media ad space – to give advertisers the chance to use real time bidding on rich media campaigns.

The joint solution tracks which traffic responds best to the rich media components within an ad – whether it's video, social media sharing or games. It then lets advertisers move their spend accordingly.

Our increasing interest in rich media advertising has taught us a few things about how the space works.

So here are our six top tips for how advertisers can get the most from the formats.

1. Execute rich media via a Demand Side Platform (DSP)

As stated above, a DSP can buy more of the traffic that works well for the ad, and will have a better understanding of which audiences respond best to specific components in the ad - i.e. video, social media sharing, photo galleries, games, forms.

2. Apply rich media on apps that are interactive themselves

Placing an ad that uses actions such as swiping, or tilting and shaking is bound to work best on an already interactive app, such as Fruit Ninja or Angry Birds. Why? Because these apps already command already high levels of engagement.

3. Fit the ads around the consumer's behaviour and the logic of the mobile site

Rich media always delivers best when integrated into the existing framework of the site or app. It enables a much more interactive experience for the consumer.

4. Be sure to support the full-range of ad formats – It's called 'rich media' for a reason.

You can dig a lot deeper and venture much further than conventional ad placing, including image galleries, video, social media sharing and location based attributes! All of these can lead to a far higher level of engagement so utilise them sensibly and methodically.

5. Make the most of MRAID

The MRAID initiative aims to harmonise standards in rich media. The idea it to make it easier for rich media ads to communicate with the apps they are being served into, by making the format simple enough to allow that standard to be obtained. Ultimately it means ads will run better across a wider variety of devices and ensure they will reach the right audience, with the right message.

6. Remember the capability of the hardware

Shake it, twist it, tilt it! All of these can become nice touches to create a memorable ad that may just push the consumer that extra inch in your favour. RTB can support the full range of ad formats (animated banners, expandable, interstitial etc) and ad features (such as image galleries, video and click to call), gamification, as well as tangible device capabilities (touch, shake, tilt).

* Remember, ME is hosting its own Monetising Mobile conference all about rich media advertising on July 12th at One Wimpole Street, London. More details here.

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