Static ads vs. dynamic ads
How can advertisers make a greater impact with their ads, and which of the two, static or dynamic ads, work best?
What Are Static Ads?
Static ads are ads that don’t change. Plain and simple.. Advertisers choose static ads when they want to create awareness around their brand and reach a large audience. Static ads can be misinterpreted as dynamic ads when a particular static ad showcases a banner or video. These ads are still static, as they do not change over time and sometimes are misinterpreted through their dynamic visual aspects.
A few benefits of implementing static ads into advertising campaigns is that they are generally accepted by all advertising networks, and they are easy to produce as they do not require much technical or creative expertise. Although static ads are unable to adapt and change according to user behaviour, they can be updated and refreshed as needed by the advertiser.
Pros
Low time-commitment as one ad is built and distributed across many channels.
Useful for generic promos (ie. Announce New Team Members, Lead Generation).
Cons
Lacks personalisation and creative aspects for specific users.
One-way communication between ad and user.
What Are Dynamic Ads?
Dynamic ads display differently based on the available data. These ads are generated based on user behaviour on the web and therefore they can target very specific users. The dynamic elements of an ad that can be noticed include price, product displayed and discount price, among others. These ads are typically used in retargeting campaigns, and they require an upload of inventory/product feeds. The key characteristic that differentiates a static ad from a dynamic ad is that dynamic will always serve the most relevant ads to a given user.
Pros
Dynamic ads generally result in higher conversion rates due to their personalised nature.
Personalised ads typically produce greater brand loyalty as users appreciate fresh and relevant content.
Cons
Slightly harder to setup requires a data feed
Only suitable for advertising listings or products
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to deciding which type of ad works best for your business. But, depending on the industry you are in, dynamic ads that require constant change and flexibility may be more suitable. Typical industries that use dynamic ads are e-commerce businesses with large inventory feeds like real estate. Whereas B2B businesses whose product portfolio may be much smaller would likely use statics ads.