Alternative Scenarios to the 'Banner' Years : A Test of Alternative Formats to Web Banner Ads

Online advertising spending continues to grow. It rose 35% from 2005 to 2006 to reach $16.9 billion. This trend is expected to persist with a projected 2011 figure of $36.5 billion. Despite this trend consumers have shown increasing annoyance with online advertising, resorting to specialized software and restrictive Web browser settings in an effort to reduce the number of pop-ups and other forms of advertising . Although the banner format is still the most prominent form of Web advertising, corporations are starting to give alternative formats serious consideration.Background images possess several features that make them an attractive alternative to traditional advertising formats, such as banner ads. First, background images can be larger in size because increasing the size of these images does not affect the text layout. Second, the background images can increase a visitor's exposure time because it is visible even if the user scrolls to the bottom of the page. Finally, being an integral part of a page, background exposures are not targeted by the assortment of ad blocking software currently on the market. This ensures that the visitor is exposed to the ad even if other traditional ad formats are blocked. This study compares the recall and recognition of the typical (468 x 60) banner ads to two versions of background wallpaper ads: background images that use the entire page and “sidebar” images that use the left margin of the page