Have you ever wondered how Rich Media ads are made? With all the creative freedom and an array of elements to choose from, where does one even start?
Here’s how a Rich Media ad is born and nurtured to life at FreakOut – from conceptualization to campaign delivery.
The Idea
The Rich Media ad starts as an idea – and the idea can come from one in two ways. The first is as a pitch from us! When we have an idea for a Rich Media campaign that we believe would work well with certain advertisers, we do not hesitate to mock up some demos and bring our ideas to them!
On the other hand, clients/advertisers may approach us with an idea in the form of a brief. A brief outlines the goals of the campaign, includes creative assets, and highlights other important information about the campaign. The content of the brief informs our idea of the overall campaign. We immediately get to work by breaking the brief down and sieving out finer details to help with the subsequent brainstorming.
The Rich Media Storyline
Once we understand the brief thoroughly, we need a narrative for the campaign. The driving question behind this process is, “How are we going to bring all these together to make a cohesive campaign?” So, we craft a storyline to weave the elements together.
Then, we start thinking about the format. Is Rich Media the right choice for this campaign? If yes, which specific Rich Media format would best suit the campaign’s objectives? Some Rich Media campaigns perform well as a game, some as a quiz, and others as an interactive and animated ad. Each of these formats have a different impact on the campaign – higher engagement rates, higher view through rates, or click through rates.
We continue to deliberate the various media elements to use, the level of interactivity, and hone in on a specific Rich Media format. Sometimes, the unique nature of the campaign even calls for a custom Rich Media ad format to be designed and coded. In such instances, we consult with our skilled ad-ops team to come up with a feasible, practical, and effective bespoke format.
Testing and Troubleshooting
With a rounded up storyline in mind, a chosen format, and a clear sense of direction for the campaign, we re-group with the clients/advertisers to present our ideas and suggestions. When both parties are on the same page, we proceed to request for relevant assets so we can start building the ad. Meanwhile, internally, we are already drafting an action plan with timelines, tasks, and deliverables. Our creative team and ad-ops team work especially hard to prepare the creatives and mount them onto the chosen ad format.
The first draft is ready. The Rich Media ad is on its way out to the real world but is not quite ready yet. We share the first draft of demos with our clients for feedback. We action the feedback – this could mean dropping some formats or making changes to existing ones.
The Rich Media ad then moves into the final stages of production. We put together a media plan around the campaign wherein we detail the media channels relevant to the target audience. Curating the right media selection is crucial because it can amplify the message conveyed. We also run numerous tests and begin the troubleshooting process to ensure the ad looks and behaves correctly.
Results and Optimisation
The campaign is launched but the journey doesn’t end there. We do a little celebratory dance and go straight back to work. Now, it’s time to monitor analytics and make changes to optimise the campaign. We do this in various ways such as swapping the creatives, spending more on a certain version of the ad, or focus on running ads on higher performing publisher sites. For best practice, we monitor campaign analytics daily and optimise accordingly.
And when the curtain finally falls on a campaign, what happens next? We repeat the process – nurturing and bringing another Rich Media ad to life.
Take a look at some of our past Rich Media campaigns:
[Case Study] Spider-man: No Way Home
[Case Study] Libresse Rich Media Campaign
Or experience them at:
FreakOut Creative Gallery
About FreakOut Rich Media
FreakOut Rich Media offers a wide variety of unique and engaging templates to choose from. We will work with you to find the format that best fits your campaign goals.
For more information, visit www.freakout.net
