If asked to give a quick summary of a television show you watched a few days ago, you would probably find it easy to recall at least the key points. However, if asked to recall two separate commercials watched during that period, you most likely wouldn’t be able to.
In the average 30-minute television broadcast, you will watch at least 18 commercials (30 second spots over an average of 9 minutes of commercial time). Is it really that difficult to call back at least two? Well…yes!
Don’t worry; your ability to completely space out during commercials has nothing to do with your attention span. It has everything to do with adapting. Your mind fully understands that commercials and advertisements are to be ignored. They are not what you’re looking for and therefore aren’t important. Years of subconscious training have turned you into the perfect ad-blocker.
The same is true for website advertising. That perfect 300×200 animated, rotating, flashing, colorful image that has bullet points to describe everything and anything your company has to offer is probably unnoticed by the vast majority of consumers. This is because it is an animated, rotating, flashing and colorful image with far too much information for anyone to absorb. Trying to “grab” someone’s attention with a flashy banner ad doesn’t work. That’s unless you’re willing to go for shock value in which case you would have to go pretty far.
That’s not to say that your ad goes completely ignored. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Your ad is being recognized and stored, but in a very different way than you probably intend. It’s called “brand recognition.” It happens faster than we realize and almost entirely without us knowing. This means your ad doesn’t deal with the present but with the future. Someone looking for a service, tool or a product can almost always recall at least one place that sells, offers, or has exactly what he or she is looking for. And it’s probably a company with whom they have no past history.
What does this mean for your banner ads? In short, it means, “keep it simple.” Ditch the animation that nobody will sit through, kill the clown colors, stop flashing meaningless words, and focus your ads on your brand and why it exists. You have less than a few seconds to make an impression, so you have to make it quick. Think of it this way, if asked to introduce your company in 1 second, what would you say?
The Good – quick, direct, easy to digest
The Bad – too much for anyone’s eye to remember
