Creative directors say branding is the most important goal of online ads

A survey of online advertising creative professionals finds that 70% of respondents view branding as the most important or second most important goal of online advertising. Interaction rate was viewed as the most important measurement of rich media performance; with 53% of those responding indicating the best way to judge an ad`s effectiveness online is to measure the percent of users that interact with it.

“We’ve helped out creative partners build ads that let consumers create and download music, design desktop wallpaper and e-mail photos to their friends. When you start to tap into those possibilities, it`s easy to see why the creative vision increasingly determines the media buy, and not the other way around,” says Martin Betoni, art director for PointRoll Inc., the study’s sponsor.

Video is also gaining ground in online advertising, the study indicates. 79% of those surveyed say they have included video when creating rich media ads. 53% of participants believe video should be 15 seconds or less for online advertising, and many noted an increase in the production of video specifically for online use.