Now you may think, “Wait a second… Millions of people are on the Internet daily. It can’t be THAT boring”. While it’s true that traffic is unbelievable, look at the websites you visit. They just sit there. Occasionally you will see some animation from a little chunk of Flash or watch a video in its own little container, and yes, there may be a site or two that tries to be more engaging. But on the whole they-just-sit-there.
Why is that? The Internet has incredible tools for creating amazing presentations. Here are some words that come to mind: performances, orchestrations, hyper-interactives, sequenced events, storyboards, etc. Let the site unfold based on viewer choices, tell stories, change the scenery, have sound, color, animation, video be a part of the performance. Now I’m not talking about the little character who walks across the screen and disrupts viewers. I’m talking about integrated performances, the indies of the Internet.
So what’s holding us back? Really, nothing. The technology is there, the viewership is there, and lord knows we have some incredibly creative people. Why don’t advertisers build performances that entertain, enlighten, engage, interact? Because the middle industry is strangling creativity. There’s always the desire to push things into buckets, enforce standards, fit everything into slots. Middle industry is everything between the viewer and the advertiser. Ad networks, publishers, ad agencies, standards bearers, [some] browsers, development tools, etc. And the middle industry likes standards because it makes their lives easier. Ask viewers if they like standards – they could care less. Ask advertisers if they like standards – hardly a way to differentiate themselves, they hate them. Oh and by the way, they are the two groups we should always be first asking but unfortunately, they are usually the last. But yet that’s where we are. The greatest opportunity for unlimited creativity and they-just-sit-there.
So advertisers – start demanding new formats, styles, presentations. Publishers, open your sites to allow performances. If you create engaging, interactive, orchestrated presentations, viewers will watch – because they won’t be bored.
At Layer Dynamics, our mantra is “There is no box” and there really isn’t….
