When it comes to the world of advertising, there are many different strategies, tactics and methods that you could employ if you are looking to entice a specific audience.
However, if you’re doing some research into different types of media advertising, you will likely come across the term “rich media”, and as a result, you might be wondering to yourself – how exactly does this differ from other types of ad formats?
Briefly speaking, rich media includes more, like video or audio – but there’s a lot more to know than just this.
Our guide explains everything you need to know about the differences between rich media and other media ad formats, along with some other handy information.
So, if you want to know more – read on!
What Is Rich Media?
Rich media is a term that is used in the world of advertising, specifically in digital advertising. Rich media ads are ads that have an array of advanced functions and features like video or audio.
The aim of rich media is to try to entice as many viewers to the ad as possible which should help to promote engagement with the ad itself.
Whilst it is true that other media ad formats can be successful like text ads or ads with imagery, rich media ads offer plenty more for the audience. These ads might be able to expand or float for example.
One of the major advantages of using rich media ads is the ability to generate user data from them.
So, if you are running a specific campaign, you will be able to gauge the success of your ads by analyzing things like video completions, audience behavior and expansions.
Indeed, the major point of rich media ads is to elicit a fantastic response from users and the audience.
Rich media allows for those who create the ads, such as advertising agencies, to generate very complex types of ads.
One of the ways that these agencies might use these ads is through HTML5 technology, which allows them to create multi-layered ads such as videos, games, polls and tweets.
What this does is largely increase the chances of generating clicks and raise the awareness of the brand – which is one of the most significant reasons that someone might opt to use rich media.
What Are The Types Of Rich Media Ads?
You may now be wondering to yourself what some examples might be of rich media ads. Below, we’ve got some of the most commonly used rich media ads.
Banner
A banner is probably the most simple of all when it comes to rich media ads. Whilst it might be very simple – it can also be very effective.
Dynamic Creative
These have the ability to change and alter the creative content whenever required and this could be either manually or subject to content rules.
Expanding
This is a type of creative ad that can go beyond the original dimensions, such as going through the top of a page.
Interstitial
These are very common in rich media and they usually appear as a full screen ad, which is common for mobile ads.
Push Down
Push down ads are very effective in the sense that they reach many audiences, but they’re also one of the most hated by the audience.
As the name suggests, these ads push the main content of a website down while the ad appears on the page.
They’re much better for desktop view as they are difficult to optimize for mobile devices.
Video
Basic video format can be included in almost all of these ad types above.
Video Player Ad Interface Definition (VPAID)
Normally this type of creative media ad is included within a video player and has video content for advertising.
How Does This Type Of Advertising Differ From Others?
Regular ad formats can be useful as we mentioned earlier, but the use of rich media ads allow you to go beyond the classic and traditional.
You can explore, experiment and navigate different things that could become far more effective.
Traditional media ad types include the following features:
- Basic imagery such as a jpeg
- No video use
- Can only track single click through links
- Word of mouth
Advantages Of Rich Media Ads Over Other Formats
There are many more advantages to using rich media ads rather than other ad formats. They include the following:
Data Extraction
Rich media ads allow you to extract much more user data from them, and this can significantly improve the success of an ad campaign.
Not only this, but it allows you to change your ad strategy if you notice it is not working as you planned.
More Chance Of Engagement
Rich media ads are far more likely to be engaged with by the audience rather than traditional media ads. This in turn is more likely to attract sales, brand awareness etc.
Allows For Experimentation
One of the more underrated positives of using rich media ads is the fact that you can experiment with it and see what works and what doesn’t. For employees in ad agencies, this can be very beneficial to their career.
Are There Disadvantages To Rich Media?
Generally speaking there are two major disadvantages to using rich media, and they are:
- Time
- Money
Rich media ads tend to take much more time to make and post. As part of an overall campaign, this can really stretch time constraints. Additionally, they can be much more expensive to make, especially for a long term campaign.
As a result, sometimes traditional media ads can be more beneficial as they can be quickly pumped out and raise awareness within minutes.
Final Thoughts
Rich media ads are as their name suggests, a much richer form of advertising. They have many advantages over traditional media ads, but they’re not without their flaws!