I can remember my early days in recruitment advertising, when trying to sell a media buy that included banner ads was about as easy as milking a snake. (If you didn't see Lemony Snicket, then that means absolutely nothing to you)

 

The bad rap on banners was tracking ROI, the complicated nature in buying them based on click-thrus and all sorts of complexities that clients were hardly interested in giving a second thought. After all, how many of us were REALLY able to tie hires to banners?

 

That was then, but it still is, now. We still struggle with justifying branding spend in the recruitment world. Having been on the client side for a few years, I have a deeper sensitivity to trying to sell the brand dollars to the masters of our ever dwindling budgets. But let me tell you why it might be time to take another look at banner ads.

 

Remember the old days when you inadvertantly clicked a banner, landed on some page, growled and deleted it before it finished loading? Today's new banner technology includes banner designs that engage the user on a completely different level. Want a crash course in what today's banner ads can do? Visit PointRoll to see how they've grown up.

 

Some of the key improvements on the old technology include:

I'm just giving you the quick and dirty. And hey, if you spend anytime online, you've probably noticed how banners have evolved. Stop and think about how that new technology and innovation can have impact on the recruiting world? How can you make a banner ad that actually allows the user to plug their information INTO THE BANNER, work for your leads generation campaigns?

 

Think short term, campaign based attack, preferably event driven.  Think about how a clever banner ad, leveraging data capture, leads generation and strategic choice of media venue can create a innovate supplement to a heavy recruitment campaign.

 

How do you get those flashy banners in your major contracts with the super sites? Tell them you don't want the red-headed step child of banners. Tell them you want your banners supersized.  

 

It won't work for everyone. But if you have a fairly strong brand and a desire to do something a little different - check out the new banner technology, and think about how you can make them work for you.