Exploring Static Ads: Are They Still Effective in Marketing?
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Pathlabs Marketing |
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January 25, 2024 |
In recent years, the concept of a static ad has become somewhat perplexing, particularly with the emergence of dynamic ads. This blog aims to clarify static ads, contrast them with dynamic ads, and evaluate the effectiveness of static ad strategies today.
What Is a Static Ad?
A static ad is simply an advertisement that does not change once it serves to a user.
To illustrate, consider an advertiser uses an ad creative labeled ‘Creative A’ for their display ad campaign. This ad's creative elements include an image, some copy, and a CTA.
When the campaign deploys and ‘creative A’ serves, these creative elements remain the same for every user the ad appears to.
This means that if two different users encounter 'creative A,' they will both view the ad precisely as the advertiser initially designed it, with the same image, text, and CTA intact. This is what makes it static.
Examples of Static Ads
Static ads typically have the following two distinguishing characteristics. First, the content does not change upon serving. Second, they most commonly take the form of a traditional graphic or image ad that has an absence of motion, like a display ad in .jpg or .png format.
We don’t usually consider HTML5 or video-based ads as statics ads; these are their own type of ad format. Nevertheless, we often compare these three types of ads formats, ultimately against the unique, newer format of dynamic ads. More on that later.
It is important to remember that teams can still perform targeting with static ads. They will build the campaign in an ad-buying platform and then indicate the specific targeting parameters based on user demographics, device, geography, interests, and behaviors. The campaign will only target relevant users who fit these parameters, yet it is still static since the ad’s creative elements don’t change upon displaying.
The Anatomy of Static Ads
Visual Elements
Every static ad contains visual components, be it an image or graphic.
Below are examples of actual static ads in action:
Compelling Copy
Static ads feature engaging language that captures attention. This copy may discuss a product, name an event, offer a discount, or highlight a solution to a problem.
Actionable CTAs
An essential part of an ad is a call-to-action (CTA), usually a small, clickable sentence or box, prompting the user to take action like buying, scheduling, or converting, leading them to a landing page.
The Rise of Dynamic Ads
Dynamic ads are a newer, modern ad format most commonly used for ad campaigns on social media platforms or by brands that advertise multiple products, like those in retail.
As opposed to static ads, when dynamic ads serve to users, their creative elements change and further personalize based on the user they serve to.
For example, when a user visits a website and a dynamic ad appears, the ad platform serving the dynamic ad will pull in the user’s data. This is information like their browsing history, interests, geography, etc. Then, the ad caters its creative elements, like its CTA, copy, and images based on the user.
To run dynamic ads, teams usually work with ad-buying platforms and publishers that offer dynamic ad templates and inventory, like Adacado or LinkedIn.
It is also very common for these dynamic ad formats to feature product or image carousels. Teams provide a data feed, which is a list including multiple products or photos, copy, CTAs, and other details. Once the ad serves, it will take specific products or offerings from the data feed and generate a custom carousel selection for the user.
The primary value proposition of dynamic ads is that through this dynamic personalization of the ad, the user has a more relevant ad experience, leading them to have a higher propensity to convert.
Examples of the Difference Between Static and Dynamic Ads
We recognize that dynamic ads are confusing, let’s illustrate more on how they differ from static ads. Adacado does a great job at making this distinction.
In the image above, there are two ads. The left is a static ad with a standard CTA, image, and ad copy. When this ad fields to users targeted by the campaign, each user sees this exact ad with the same creative elements.
On the right is a dynamic ad. The advertiser running this campaign provides a data feed listing its product images, prices, and descriptions. Then, the ad platform will take these creative elements and serve a custom ad based on each user’s data. As a result, every user sees a different iteration of the ad.
Another excellent example of a static versus dynamic ad is with LinkedIn below.
The ad on the left is static, as it will appear the same to all users the campaign targets. The dynamic ad on the right will alternatively tap into the data of each user, in this case, taking their name and profile photo and then incorporating them next to the logo and ad copy provided by the team. Once again, every user will see a different iteration of the dynamic ad, personalized to them.
What About Dynamic Search Ads?
Dynamic search ads are a special type of ad that share these elements regarding dynamism and personalization towards users.
DSAs work by having the advertising team first provide Google Ads with the link to their brand domain, which Google crawls.
Subsequently, when users make search queries on Google, Google Ads will generate custom paid search ads with the content from the advertiser’s domain.
These dynamic ads are overall more specific to the paid search world. They don’t require as much of a data feed, just the domain. They will ultimately prioritize personalizing the ad more towards the specific search query made by the user instead of based on their personal data.
Understanding the Pros and Cons of Static Ads
Pros
Less Fuss From an Execution Standpoint
Statics ad campaigns are typically more straightforward than dynamic campaigns. The team develops the ad creative, builds the campaign – in the ad buying platforms they already invest in – and launches it. When the ad serves, it displays the original ad creative provided, across all users.
Dynamic ad campaigns can have more steps and hurdles to jump over, as teams will likely need to invest in another ad platform and provide additional creative and data feed elements.
More Control
Since the creative aspects of a static ad stay the same when they serve, teams can control them and use them for testing. For example, they may A/B test in a campaign, serving two versions of a creative with a different CTA on each. Then, they can compare which ad creative version pulled users in more.
With dynamic ads constantly generating different ad iterations, it can be more difficult to control these elements for testing, with teams mostly having to trust the reports and decisions made by the platform fielding the dynamic ads.
Teams Can Still Target and Personalize Static Ad Campaigns
Some think that because static ads serve the same creative elements to users, there isn’t a level of targeting or personalization available. This is not the case.
As previously mentioned, teams can still reach a level of granularity with their static ad campaigns by using different targeting parameters, such as user geographic area, device, demographic, interests, etc.
They can also cater the copy and CTA of the ad based on the audience the campaign will reach. However, the creative elements will not be further personalized once the ad serves.
Cons
Really, the only benefit dynamic ads offer over static ads is they can have a greater extent of personalization once the ad creative ultimately serves – if there is successful access to the data of the user.
Many argue this to be beneficial, as the dynamic ad will include products and copy of interest to the user, it may even include their name or photo. This can sometimes make the user more likely to pay attention to the ad. Teams won’t get this same extent of personalization with static ads.
Best Practices for Incorporating Static Ads Into Your Campaigns
Since static ads are still prominent, you are likely already using them. Keep them as part of your advertising strategy. For those looking to explore dynamic ads, it’s crucial to research, test, and assess their viability first before full adoption.
Are Static Ads Still Effective?
Static ads remain highly effective despite the rise of more complex ad formats, like dynamic ads. The straightforward approach to execution for statics ads makes them a preferred choice for many advertisers, especially considering the minimal requirement for specialized collaboration and fewer management resources.
“While dynamic ads are gaining traction with their hyper-personalization features, this doesn’t automatically translate to superior performance. For instance, a dynamic ad incorporating the user’s name or photo on LinkedIn or including products the user previously browsed is not a silver bullet and won’t guarantee a conversion. With their clear and direct approach, static ads can often be just as compelling in delivering a message and engaging an audience.”
On a final note, particularly for dynamic ads, it will be interesting to see if this ad format is still viable in the future. These ads hinge on access to real-time user data. However, with ongoing data regulations, accessing this user data will likely become more challenging.
Publishers that require user opt-in or login, like retail websites or social media platforms, can likely keep access to this data and offer these ads. Still, this data access is going away for others and may weaken the value of dynamic ads.
This puts dynamic ads in a weird spot, prompting the overall question of ‘why invest in fancy dynamic ads if they have more hurdles around their facilitation and data access when a static ad campaign can be just as effective, cost less, and serve more frequently.
Only after more testing and new developments come about with dynamic ads will we be able to deem dynamic ads superior to static ads or not.
In Conclusion…
Static ads, characterized by their unchanging content once served, remain a fundamental part of digital advertising. These ads, appearing in still formats like graphics or images, offer consistency and straightforward execution, making them a reliable choice for broad messaging and brand reinforcement.
On the other hand, dynamic ads provide a personalized experience by changing their content based on user data, making them popular in sectors like retail. They adapt elements like product displays and images to align with the viewer's interests and browsing history, aiming for higher engagement.
Despite the growing trend towards personalization in advertising, static ads still hold significant value. As the digital advertising landscape evolves, the choice between static and dynamic ads will depend on each campaign's specific goals and context.
