Whether you like it or not, sometimes you're going to have to design banner ads. This deck should make it a little less awful by laying out the guardrails and best practices.

2. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
CONTENTS
1. Past, Present, Future
2. Static Best Practices
3. Animation Formulas
4. Technical Considerations
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3. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
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PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

4. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Display ads are Traditional in
concept, Digital in execution
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5. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Spray-&-Pray
Display ads fit into the traditional
advertising media buy
● Come up with an idea for a TV spot
● Reformat it for Print
● Repurpose for Display Ads
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TV / PRINT /
BANNERS
IN-STORE /
ECOMMERCE

6. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Context
Display Ads benefit greatly from being
contextually relevant to their target
(especially on mobile)
● User location
● Time of day
● Current weather
● Website the ad is embedded in
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Same ad served in morning,
afternoon, or evening

7. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Retargeting
More user data across devices
provides more powerful retargeting
● Context can get more specific to
the user journey
● Messaging can change based on
location in funnel
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8. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Less Sale-sy Ads
As content marketing continues to
take a bite out of advertising, display
ads will become more content
oriented
● Look like content rather than ad
● Drive user to valuable content
rather than product page
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9. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
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STATIC BEST PRACTICES

10. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Start with the customer and
work backward
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11. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Simple
Clear copy, simple design
● Use a single image
● Stick to contrasting, bold (RGB)
colors
● Use a few, precise words
● Open designs have a 42% higher
click-through rate*
● Light backgrounds have a 60%
higher click-through rate*
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*Source: Amazon Trusted Creative Partner Program

12. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Brand Logos
Enhance performance
● Ads with a stand-alone logo have
a 15% higher consideration rate*
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*Source: Amazon Trusted Creative Partner Program

13. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Clear & Correct CTA
Where are you sending people?
● Sending to product page or valuable
content?
● What do you want the user to do?
● If using a button, place under the
message
● Reward messages have a 97% higher
click-through rate*
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*Source: Amazon Trusted Creative Partner Program

14. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Consistent
Unity in design
● Display ad and the destination
site should share design queues
● Click-through website needs
visual relationship with original ad
● Start with the design of the
destination and then design
backwards
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15. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
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ANIMATION FORMULAS

16. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Get their attention and tell a
story
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17. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
When to use
Animated
Do you want to blend in or stand out?
● Animated is good for grabbing
attention.
● Would rich media tell a better story?
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18. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Catch their Eye
Get attention before jumping into story
● Introduce first slide through
animation reveal
● Make it snappy
● Then begin story
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19. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Simple Story
Don’t assume they’re paying attention
● Keep the story simple
● Build on elements rather than
swapping them out
● Keep critical storytelling (design)
elements persistent (up-the-
whole-time)
● One main thought
● Don’t pack too much in
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20. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Rhythm
Move to a cadence
● Movement should have variety
(like the hook of a song)
● Quick, quick, slow
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21. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Finish Strong
Culminate with a big reveal
● Imagine the curtains open
at a play
● Final messaging
● CTA
● Final frame should work as a
static (works on its own - design
first, reverse-engineer)
● 15 seconds of animation
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22. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
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TECHNICAL
CONSIDERATIONS

23. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Design as though you’re the
one building it
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24. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Main Sizes
Most common display ad
sizes
● 300x250
● 728x90
● 160x600
But many other sizes do
exist and will be defined in
the specs for your specific
job
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728 x 90
160
x
600
300 x 250

25. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Start w/ 300x250
Design at high resolution for easy
resizing
● 1200x1000, or higher
But remember to size it back down to
spec size for reviewing readability and
for final handoff to animator/developer
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26. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Resizing
Design will be different for
different sizes
● Long and skinny vs.
short and fat
● File size limitations -
just because 300x600
is 2x a 300x250 doesn’
t mean you have
additional file size
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27. DESIGNING EFFECTIVE DISPLAY ADS BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Design under 40k
Backgrounds, colors, PNG’s
● Fewer full-bleed background
images
● Check your size specs (40k is
common but not the only)
● Fewer colors, closer to RGB
primaries
● PNG’s with as little transparency
and color variations as possible
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28. QUESTIONS?