U.S. B2B digital advertising grew a whopping 32.5% in 2020 year-over-year…

By Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect

Digital channels play an important role when it comes to advertising. I’m sure this is no surprise to most marketers given the pandemic the world has been facing the past 18 months.

According to Emarketer, the forecast for this year is expected to grow almost 25% and by 2023, the total B2B digital spend is forecasted to almost double to be close to the 15 billion mark.

Another stat that surprised me was that LinkedIn is forecasted to account for nearly one-third of the total B2B display ad spending in 2021. And I’m sure a majority of these ads are for job openings, but there are still plenty of promoted posts I’m seeing on LinkedIn.

On the other hand, digital ad investment accounts for 32% of total B2B digital ad spend. This is mostly due to Technology Products and Service companies. With digital channels being vital when marketing to your customers, B2B marketers are investing more in digital ads than display.

How has your company’s digital advertising grown over the past year?

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Time (and Advertising) Stops for No One

By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter

a-man-who-stops-advertising-to-save-money-is-like-a-man-who-stops-a-clock-to-save-time

That’s one of my favorite quotes. Not because I’m in marketing and advertising, but because it dispels one of the biggest myths about manufacturers. That is:

All manufacturers are engineering and sales driven, and advertising is an afterthought, or a “necessary evil.”

Henry Ford wasn’t just any old manufacturer. He transformed not only American manufacturing, but revolutionized manufacturing processes. He changed the way we live. His streamlined assembly line could churn out a Model T every 24 seconds. As summer winds down, it’s worth noting that he’s partially responsible for all the grilling you did as well.

(more…)

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Banner Ads: Less is More

By Scott Bessell, Idea Builder, Sonnhalter

It must have been a “data jockey” who allocated the minimal, odd-ball spaces on websites for what are known as banner ads. Message purveyors have the challenge then to effectively communicate messaging within the confines of 320×50 pixels or the endearing long and thin 120 x 600. It’s as if they (the space allocators) didn’t want ads on the site to begin with! Clearly a necessary evil. Well, hail capitalism! Banner ads are what make the web (afford) to go around!

So, the challenge is what do you say and show in such cramped spaces?

Looking keenly at what is being done lately, I’ve taken some cues from the retail side of the creative craft. I’ve noticed that, for the most part, when consumer product is being presented they usually offer up only ONE saleable feature. This soap gets you cleaner, this car is faster, this food makes you healthier, this candidate will solve this problem. You get the picture.

Serve me up your best. If I’m interested I’ll follow through and get the details. Those examples offer ONE thing they want you to digest and act upon. I am asked too many times to try and get as much information into these tiny limited spaces as possible—even when it’s not possible. If I may, how many times are you drawn to the blabber mouth at a party? Tune them out right? Same thing!

As with all other mediums, banner ads must be created with their limits in mind. Whether the ad is static or animated, it’s crucial to minimize content since you’re dealing with minimal space. You may have heard the saying about fitting so many pounds of something into a much smaller capacity container.

Gallery images via moat.com

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Want to Drive Traffic to Your Booth at a Trade Show?

By Sandy Bucher, Media Engineer, Sonnhalter

Photo courtesy of Viega LLC

Photo courtesy of Viega LLC

Digital display advertising is one way to drive traffic to your booth at a trade show. Depending on the size and location of the trade show you’re exhibiting at, the venue may offer this option. A client of ours recently took advantage of this opportunity at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The digital display ads appear on various screens located throughout the venue, usually near the high traffic areas such as main lobbies and secondary lobbies, entrances to meeting rooms, near the info desk or near escalators.

Here are some tips when creating your digital display ads to get the best effect:

  • Make the Text Big – designs should be simple, clear and easy to read
  • Use Bold, Non-Serif Fonts – avoid decorative or serif fonts
  • One Message – don’t present a complicated message or numerous images
  • Use Bright, Bold Colors – and design with high contrast
  • Lose the White Space – increase your logo, font sizes and images
  • Be Short and Sweet – your ad will appear for a few seconds each time, so you want it to be a quick read
  • Booth Number – be sure to add it to the ad so people know where to go

Enforce your brand, showcase a new product, offer a giveaway – digital display ads can get your message into the minds of the trade show attendees to get them into your booth where you want them.

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Communication Vehicles: Then and Now

By Scott Bessell, Idea Builder, Sonnhalter

One of my more astute colleagues here at the agency suggested that I might share with you my thoughts on new communiqués of today versus yesterday. She, being a millennial, didn’t consider that I was chosen moreover because I, given my age, probably also created those “old” ads. Apologies accepted.

via Abdullah AlBargan

Driving into the creative cave today I was behind a Cadillac CTS 4. Jet black, LED lights, looking…bad (as in good, you know). Anyway, I was thinking about my former favorite caddy, from those bygone days; The 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. I would look ridiculous in either. Dissecting them both is how I offer up my opinion on today’s ads versus yesterday’s—to groans within (another Scott metaphor), here goes. The cars. Both, the new one and my ‘59, appear to us purely as style statements. Underneath, they both have a drivetrain, steering mechanism, wheels. Internally, both have seats, a steering wheel, pedals to make it stop and go and if we’re lucky, a subwoofer! So, they both did/do their jobs. In its day, the ‘59 was kick-ass no doubt. Radical and (insert 50’s adjectives here). Today the CTS is held in high esteem also. Both are powerful and comfortable modes of transportation for their times.

Ads. Stripping away the “art” and “design” of most of today’s communication vehicles, yes, even those obnoxious banner ads, like the cars mentioned previously, “underneath” they too must have something in common, and usually always do—the message.

What do you want to say to me? What would you like me to do or know? Whether it was an old ad or a new one, at their core is the message. They might date themselves by the language they use—dated colloquialisms and such. And like that last sentence, how much unnecessary BS they contain. Let’s retry that: They might show their age by their use of words and phrases popular with the people of the day. So, common to both is the message. Then, like those cars, we stylize a body for our “vehicle” so people will notice it. Ads from “back in the day” looked like it. Ads of today, at least the professional ones, look like it. Understand too that most all the ads from yesteryear were done by professionals. Back then, they didn’t have desktop publishing. Amateurs or wannabes weren’t charged with constructing the latest ad with the latest anyone-can-use software.

So, my comment about communications of yesterday versus today is they both did/do their jobs effectively in that they communicate to the viewer a message. The good ones, then and now, do it cleanly and thus clearly. The best ones get your attention and are memorable. The ones that ad managers claim were totally their own creations are the ones that get you to act and follow through. Or better yet, place an order—immediately.

 

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