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Part 2 of a 2-Part Series
[continued from last month...]
IV. Video Email
First it was text email. Then came HTML formatted email. Now, video email is here. It's actually been around for a while (in Internet time), but due to large file sizes and bandwidth limitations, has been slow to really catch on -- although that has changed quite a bit. Unfortunately, due to the proliferation of viruses spread via email, most security settings prevent such rich media from playing in the email message itself, although this can be overcome by changing the settings in one's email program.
Sample
- Clip Stream - Offers software to create your own video emails. No special software required by email recipient to view video.
- Enriched Marketing - Offers the ability to choose from templates that can be customized with your text and graphics resulting in a video email message. The system also tracks who opens your email message as well as who clicks on any of the links inside the email message.
V. Audio/Video
Audio/video files can be great ways to create ads, especially if the ad is a video of something you would do on a computer. Ultimately, however, you'll probably want to convert your final final into a more web-friendly format (i.e. smaller file size).
- SnagIt - Application allows you to record what you do on your computer and save it into a video file. You can then optionally edit the video file (using another program) then convert it into another format suitable for delivery.
- 123 AVI to GIF Converter - Once you have a video file, you can convert it to an animated GIF file, which can then be used at your web site or within an email message.
- Media Player Format - Once you have a video file, you can also convert it to one of several popular media player formats. Some of the more popular media players out there are Microsoft's Windows Media Player, Real Networks RealOne Player and Apple's QuickTime Player. This reduces the file size significantly without sacrificing much in quality.
VI. Drop In Ads
This advertising format has no standardized name and therefore has many different names, including Drop In Ads, Flying Ads, Pop-Over Ads, and the like. Regardless of what you call them, they all pretty much do the same thing. An image, Flash file or mini-web page is shown in what appears to be a separate window, but is really part of the page the user is viewing. The content in this look-alike window floats in over the current window and may disappear by itself after some predetermined time or can remain there until the user "closes" the window. This format can be used at your own site to deliver important messages, announcements, ads and the like, or can be used to promote your site at other sites that offer the drop in format.
Sample
- Free Scripts - Here are a couple of free scripts you can use to create drop in messages for use at your own site.
- Flying Pop In Creator Software - If you'd rather have a more user-friendly way to create drop in ads for use at your site, try this piece of software.
- Drop In Ads - Advertise your web site at other sites using the Drop In Ad format.
VII. Other
There are a few other formats worthy of mentioning:
- HTML Ads - Some banner ads are created to look like they are a real form with option buttons and a submit button (for example). In reality, they are usually just pictures (i.e. GIF or JPEG image) and when the user thinks they are clicking on an option button, they are really clicking on the banner image itself. HTML ads, however, are the real thing. They may look like these types of fake banners, but they really work. So if you click on the option button and click Submit, they really do something, such as taking you to the associated page at the advertiser's site. The ad, in a sense, is really a live, functioning, mini-html page provided by the advertiser.
- Expandable Ads - This type of ad uses an image or mini-html page to show the advertisement. When the page loads or when the user places their mouse over the image or clicks on the image, the image becomes larger showing more of the ad. For example, the initial ad may be 728 pixels wide and 50 pixels tall. But when the user places their mouse over the image, the image expands or drops down and becomes 250 pixels tall. A good example might be that a question appears in the main portion of the ad "Which food has more carbohydrates - a bagel or a candy bar?" When the user places their mouse over the ad, the ad expands and shows the answer to the question.
- Interstitials - Although classified as a rich media format, they are not exactly "rich" in my book. This is simply a web page that is shown in between going from one page to another. For example, at the time of this writing, PayPal occassionally uses this method when a member logs in. On the home page, a member would enter their email address and password, then click the Log In button. Next, a page comes up with some offer (e.g. "get our new ATM card"). The user either clicks a button to get more information about the offer or they click a button that says "No Thanks" and takes them to their PayPal account.
SO NOW WE KNOW
Now, the above list is by no means exhaustive. But, at this point, I hope you can see that there are a number of different types of rich media formats out there and by seeing examples of them, you have a better idea of what they look like and how they work -- not to mention how you can now create your own rich media format ads.
And finally, if you find yourself at a social gathering at 3 AM, the conversation is starting to get dull and you're looking for a way to liven things up a bit, you can now say "Hey! Do you what rich-media advertising is - EXACTLY? I sure do!" ;)
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