Have you made a purchase that was influenced by banner advertising?

[CityGuard]

Last night I made my first purchase that I can directly attribute to banner advertising. I saw a banner when I was focused on a completely different topic, clicked, researched the product on the merchant’s site, researched similar products through search, and ultimately chose to purchase from the merchant whose banner I had initially clicked. It was a product I was not previously thinking about buying, although I was familiar with the company.

I’m sure advertising in general, and banners in particular, have influenced other purchases I’ve made in the past and will influence more in the future, but this one stood out because the influence was so direct –- I wouldn’t have made the purchase without seeing that banner, and the purchase was not only of the product advertised but through the specific merchant doing the advertising.

So now I’m curious, how do you see banners influencing your decisions?

[RayUK]

Sometimes a good banner ad will catch my attention, and trigger me into looking into that service (or whatever) a bit more. I won't go from 'never heard of it' to 'must have' just from the banner ad but I have had my notice brought to things by banner ads before.

Also they can be useful as being 'click here to get here' things - that is if I am looking to click through to something I am researching, the banner ad is a big obvious thing that I can click to get to the vendors site without hunting for a link etc.

[praxis]

Banner and display advertising has been around forever, so they must work. Even though it may not make you click and buy it can certainly awake an interest for the product or service. Banners are also great for building brand recognition.
For us banner and display adveritising is one of the most powerful methods to incorporate our message and increase buyer awareness.

Who else uses banner and other display media as part of their traffic methods?

[Doolally]

I often click on a banner that leads me to a site I might find interesting. If I like what I see, it often leads to a sale from that banner and I'll probably bookmark the site for future as well.

[thepokerkeep]

I have purchased books due to Amazon banner ads.

When considering what affiliate programs merit further investigation I have definitely clicked on the banners here and at AGD.

In my personal experience, a small/fairly inexpensive purchase is often triggered solely by a banner ad while more important purchases/decisions are influenced by a combinaiton of first seeing a banner, then doing the appropriate research.

[LuckyLizzy]

I have recently warmed up to banner advertising and have even made a purchase after clicking on one.

I didnt always used to be that way though as I used to completely ignore any ads flashing at me online thinking it would lead me to an unwanted site or give me a virus. But after realizing that this was just a misconception and that most banner ads are actually good, I have changed my mind about them.

Has anyone else had the same opinions as I did?

[bonusbeast]

I can't remember ever making a purchase from a banner add, but like "thepokerkeep" said, I have signed up for affiliate programs through some of the forums. Of course us as webmasters have more of a banner blindness than the average web surfer.

[Karim.ZamaMedia]

I will click a banner that I find interesting just to see where I end up. I would never make an on the spot purchase though. Having dealt with a lot of CPA campaigns I know a lot of products are all hype.

I even like to look at the landing page just to see how they are marketing their products, maybe gain a few ideas of them.

[Luvin Poker Lin]

I don't believe I have ever made a purchase through a banner. I do however think banners are a great way to get product recognition. They are a great way to get your name and logo out there and recognized. Studies have shown that if you see something 10 times you will remember it even if your not making an effort to do so.

[bb1web]

I think the one thing that has changed is that just as CG pointed out that he did, is he researched the product before making a purchase.

That tells me that you'd better have a product worthy of its salt or you're just advertising for someone who does.

Nice subject.

edited to add that back in the day you could get an impulse sale based just on the banner, and I confess I have in my early days made some very bad choices which is how I learned to do what CG said, and research the products more thoroughly.

good things to add in your search with the name of the product are : warning, did not do, rip-off, do not buy, didn't like, not worth, anything you can think of that might be used by a real person to complain about that product.

The good things will be too plentiful due to aff advertising (meaning good things said about them by actual purchasers) but focus on those negatives and then if you don't get a lot of relevant results in your search then you probably have something pretty good or at least you'll be aware of what to beware of: and also just as importantly is you'll probably learn which companies to avoid buying from.

[Renee]

I'm pretty sure I've done this often actually... I just can't remember the last time I did it.. even though I'm sure it was recently..

Next time I do I'll have to post..

Good thread topic Steven.

[martin b]

i hate this tipe of advertising, and i try not to reward the people who are using it, but i guess that with out noticing i did bought stuff