Digital Moses

WARNING! Punch the Terrorist! Win a Vacation! Shoot the Duck!

Have you ever been lured into clicking on a banner that is flashing, twitching, or shaking? These ads are made using rich media and although they get your attention, there can be a downside to using them with an in-house affiliate program.

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Rich Media ads are more valuable for buying media at a flat fee because it generates higher click through rates, which usually decreases overall cost-per-action. In addition, it creates brand awareness by generating attention, thus luring users to take action. But if your affiliate program pays based on clicks or a simple action, then you may not be getting the end results you are looking for because the quality may not be that great.

Affiliates love CPC or CPA programs that use rich media ads because users are more likely to click or take action on flashing ads without the need for them to target the audience. A great example is an interactive ad that reads, “shoot the duck” and win an iPod. The user may be driven to the game rather than the offer. Thus, the value of the user is less. The in-house affiliate program pays the consequence by having to pay for poor quality clicks or leads.

Although there’s been a lot of hype that rich media is the future of online advertising, in-house affiliate networks would still rather promote static GIF ads because of the focus on profitability rather than impressions delivered or user-interactivity. While it’s important to engage the consumer, it’s more important to generate a positive return on investment (ROI).