I’m calling it: digital advertising is finally coming of age

Although tablets have become ubiquitous, their potential for engaging consumers in new ways is still being explored. Tablets and tablet advertising offer a new frontier in getting the consumer to really lean in and take notice. Designers and digital agencies are constantly pushing themselves to effectively use the unique advantages of tablet advertising as well as to overcome the distinctive restrictions that accompany this technology.

Although there has been much talk of tablet sales slowing in 2015, regions with emerging tablet markets, such as South Africa, are still just discovering their appetite for tablets. Also, with coloured, high-resolution displays and larger screen sizes, tablets still have a fair number of advantages over other mobile devices.

Tablet advertisements can enthral in ways no paper page prints ever could, but another reason they are significantly important to businesses is the highly-detailed level of measurability, trackabilty and customer insight they yield. Various options for tracking user interaction with tablet adverts exist, with one of the most comprehensive offerings coming from Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. As cost can be prohibitive, there are agencies that offer the service at a reduced rate, which gives customers the benefit of measurable mobile content at a lower cost. The kind of knowledge provided through these platforms about how customers interact is well worth the investment.

A look at the tablet advertising landscape shows advancement in technical skills in the advertising industry and more effective use of user information feedback from tools like Adobe DPS. At the 2013 Adobe Digital Summit there was renewed interest in returning to previous creative ideas for tablet advertising that had initially seemed too complicated to implement.

This shift in thinking has, and will continue to, result in a move away from adverts that simply mirror the static quality of hard copy magazines. It is an exciting development in the industry because as the technical skill to create immersive adverts becomes more widespread, so does the scope to give consumers a more intriguing and interactive advertising experience.

As tablet advertisers continue to innovate, various trends can be identified. Some of these include gamification through the use of the ‘scratch off’ technique, adverts that link to mini store fronts from web overlays, mimicking a brick-and-mortar shopping experience, as well as adverts that are integrated seamlessly into editorial content.

The ‘scratch off technique’ is one of the most dominant of these trends. Here is a round up of some recent examples of how this technique has been effectively used.

The Blind Barber
One of the best and earliest examples of creative use of the scratch off technique is the Blind Barber advert, published in Bullet Magazine’s 2013 digital edition. The advert for a New York-based barbershop allowed users to customize an illustrated man’s look by changing his hairstyle and trimming his facial hair. Teresa Demmel’s video exploration of the advert shows how much fun can be had with the scratch off technique and how it keeps an audience engaged.

In the video she trims and neatens up the man’s enormous beard. The interactive scratch off technique makes the advert amusing and increases the users’ overall recollection of the brand.

GQ Australia : City-proof Skin

The scratch off technique also appears in the 2014 March issue of GQ Australia’s digital edition. This clever advert shows a collection of skin care products covered by smog and grime. A call for the user to wipe to clean the smog away appears beneath the image. Once the smog has been wiped away, the cleaning properties of the products are highlighted. This practically shows the health-improvement aspects of the advertised products.

Edgars Club Magazine South Africa

Adverts that pique interest by appealing to a consumer’s competitive or inquisitive nature are becoming more popular with advertisers. These types of adverts often prompt the user to complete tasks to see new elements of the advert or to be able to enter a competition.

Locally, the April 2015 issue of the new Edgars Club tablet magazine makes use of gamification. Here, the scratch off technique is paired with a competition. Gold ‘scratch and reveal’ squares are dispersed throughout the magazine.

Interaction is boosted as readers have to swipe their fingers across the square to ‘scratch off’ the foil and reveal a clue. Once readers have revealed all the clues in the magazine, they are directed to the entry page of a competition. The action of scratching away the gold over the squares was inspired by physical scratch-and-win cards and is an interesting iteration of an originally physical object being repurposed for digital.

The adverts in these examples all steer away from bombarding viewers with overly involved gimmicks, but by using the scratch off technique in a well thought-out and measured manner, advertisers have found a way to innovatively boost user interaction and increase brand recall.