APP banner creative guide!

Banner ads are the most common form of mobile advertising and have undergone a long evolution to where they are today.

Poor design, no interaction, forced pop-ups that interfere with user experience... As banner ads enter a new era of interaction and response, the once-criticized mobile ads are slowly disappearing. Today's banner ads can better resonate with the audience! As the third in a series of Aarki creative guides, this article will take you deep into banner ads.

Why choose banner ads?

Banner ads are easy to get a glimpse of, and are particularly effective for brand awareness campaigns. Banner ads typically include an image, copy, and a CTA (call to action) button, as well as an app/landing page that allows users to be redirected after clicking on the ad.

Despite being the most common ad format and having the lowest CPM (cost per thousand impressions), banner ads are still the highest-revenue-generating ad format, according to MoPub. Additionally, a study by Appodeal also showed that banner ads are the highest revenue-generating format on iOS in Latin America and Western Europe. Its extremely high exposure makes it a reliable and powerful means of monetization.

According to eMarketer data, from 2014 to 2019, U.S. banner advertising spending increased from US$10.53 billion to US$17.68 billion, an increase of 67.9%.

Types of banner ads

Banner ads come in different shapes and sizes, but the two that generally perform best in mobile apps are:

.Small Banner 320×50

Small banners, also known as mobile banners, are the preferred size for mobile ads. Usually appears at the bottom of the screen, it is designed to attract attention, drive display, and promote CTR.

.Medium Rectangle Banner 300×250

Medium rectangular banners are a good choice for display ads. Due to its compact size, it is generally considered less intrusive than other larger formats, such as full-screen interstitials or videos. On the other hand, it still has plenty of space for more details to attract users.

Banner creative tips: Dos and don’ts

1. Appropriate animation

Regardless of the ad size, animated images are more likely to grab users’ attention than static images. Use animation to attract attention, but remember not to make it too exaggerated or uncomfortable (high-frequency flickering, violent screen shaking), otherwise users may think it is a spam ad.

2. Short and sharp

Since space is limited, every word in your banner ad counts. Therefore, tailor your direct and persuasive message to your audience. Keeping your copy short and sweet is key to success.

3. Avoid duplication

Make the most of a small space by arranging advertising elements in an integrated and coherent manner. Make the logo stand out and position it away from other elements. Do not use small font sizes as they will be difficult to read on a small screen.

4. Highlight your brand

Use your branding elements like personal imagery and symbols, and don’t forget to use your brand color palette.

5. High-quality images

All visuals should be high quality, avoid using blurry images, keep your ad professional and clear. Make sure all elements of your ad are vivid and readable.

6. Make sure it’s visible

At the end of the day, the goal of every ad is to trigger action. A well-thought-out CTA with the right copy and colors is crucial for banner ads. Make sure your ad’s CTA button stands out to encourage your target users to take action.

7. Test, test, and test again!

No ad creative is universal, and testing is always the only way to perfect your ad creatives. Make sure your ads are relevant and in line with the interests of your target audience. Leverage multivariate creative optimization techniques to test multiple variations to determine the best combination for a single ad. A variable can be a CTA, background image, color, text, or a combination of messages.

Different application types

While banner ads are widely used to promote all apps, our research shows that banner ads are particularly effective for certain categories of apps.

We analyzed multiple ads running in various geographic locations. Specifically, it includes: global action, adventure, and match-3 games; American lifestyle, photography, sports, and strategy games; Japanese dating games; Indonesian and German education games; American and Korean home life games;

The analysis reference indicators are as follows:

ROI (Return on Investment)

CPI (Cost Per Install)

CR (Conversion Rate)

Banner ads are the most "old" and still widely used ad format. To maximize your ROAS (return on advertising spend), use the creative strategies above flexibly. Please note that due to the different characteristics of products, you should always test, test, and test again!

The Aarki creative guide series consists of three parts:

1. Playable Ads

2. Video Ads

3. Banner Ads

Author: Aarki

Source: Aarki