Display advertising is a form of online marketing that uses visual elements, like images, videos, and animations, to promote brands across websites and devices. Often appearing as banners, pop-ups, or interactive media, these ads aim to boost visibility, drive traffic, and build brand awareness. They’re typically billed using cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM), or even conversion-based models like affiliate marketing.
Why use display advertising in B2B? In this blog, we’ll define display advertising and explore its types, benefits, challenges, and models, helping you decide if it fits your B2B marketing strategy.
What is Display Advertising?
Display marketing, also known as display advertising strategy, is a form of online display advertising that uses visual elements, such as images, videos, banners, or animations, to promote products, services, or brands. These ads appear on websites, apps, and social media platforms, often targeting specific audiences based on their interests, behaviour, or demographics.
Unlike search advertising, which responds to user queries, display ads are proactive and aim to attract attention as users browse online content. Google Display Network and Facebook Audience Network are popular platforms for running display advertising campaigns. The benefits of display advertising include boosting brand awareness, driving traffic, and supporting retargeting efforts. Common examples of display advertising include banner ads on media sites, sponsored posts on social platforms, and animated visuals on niche blogs targeting professionals.
Types of Display Advertising
A B2B display advertising strategy leverages various types of display advertising to capture attention, generate awareness, and drive engagement across the buyer’s journey. Following display advertising best practices, marketers utilize banner ads on industry websites and trade publications, offering high visibility and clear CTAs to direct decision-makers to relevant content or landing pages. Rich media ads go beyond static visuals by incorporating interactive elements like videos, forms, or animations to deliver a more engaging and informative experience, ideal for showcasing complex solutions. Interstitial ads appear between page loads, grabbing full attention and effectively promoting high-value assets like whitepapers or webinars.
Video ads are particularly effective on professional display advertising platforms such as LinkedIn and YouTube, helping brands communicate thought leadership and product value succinctly. Responsive display ads adjust automatically to various screen sizes, ensuring consistency across devices. Native ads blend with editorial content to deliver targeted messaging without disrupting the user experience. Using a mix of these formats helps optimize reach and influence within niche B2B audiences.
Common Challenges in Display Advertising
Display advertising, while powerful, faces several challenges that can impact its effectiveness. A key hurdle is ad blindness and banner fatigue, where users subconsciously ignore banner-like content or grow tired of repetitive ads. This leads to reduced engagement and lower conversion rates. Marketers can address this by using dynamic, eye-catching designs, personalized messaging, and rotating ad formats to keep campaigns fresh and engaging. Another major challenge is precise targeting. Relying on outdated or inaccurate data results in poor conversion and a wasted budget. Effective display advertising strategies include maintaining clean, updated databases, segmenting audiences, and adopting account-based marketing (ABM) for personalized outreach.
Ad quality is equally vital—low-quality visuals, unclear messaging, or poor responsiveness can hinder campaign performance. High-resolution graphics, compelling copy, and A/B testing can enhance overall quality and impact. The rise of ad blockers also poses a threat, especially as users seek less intrusive experiences. To overcome this, marketers should focus on native advertising and value-driven, non-intrusive content. Lastly, measuring ROI and attribution remains complex in B2B marketing due to long sales cycles and multiple touchpoints. Moving beyond last-click attribution and integrating cross-channel data helps marketers better understand the customer journey and optimize their campaigns accordingly.
B2B Display Ads That Convert: Strategy Essentials for Marketers
In the competitive B2B landscape, digital display advertising tools remain a powerful asset—if executed strategically. As part of a broader performance marketing approach, display ads can drive measurable results when backed by data and continual optimisation. Here are 10 essential best practices to elevate your display advertising efforts:
1. Keep Designs Simple
Minimalistic design is key in B2B advertising. Cluttered visuals distract the viewer and dilute the message. Stick to one core image, limited colours, and concise copy. Simplicity cuts through the noise and delivers a message quickly, crucial given today’s shrinking attention spans—crucial in the fast-paced environment of display advertising.
2. Use Strong Visual Hierarchy
A clear visual hierarchy ensures that the audience processes information in the intended order. Arrange headlines, imagery, and CTAs using natural reading patterns (left to right, top to bottom), and allocate enough white space to prevent cognitive overload. This guides the viewer through your ad efficiently.
3. Incorporate Visual Cues
Subtle cues like arrows, icons, or contrast can lead the viewer’s eye to the most important elements, such as your CTA or value proposition. These cues enhance the natural flow of your ad without overwhelming the viewer or looking overly aggressive.
4. Use Storytelling to Create Emotional Connection
B2B buyers are still human—appeal to their emotions through storytelling. Craft a narrative that aligns with their pain points and aspirations. Use sequential messaging across ad variations to gradually build a story and foster deeper engagement.
5. Target the Messaging for Different Personas
Generic messaging fails to engage. Segment your audience and tailor messaging for each segment. For instance, a CIO may care about scalability while a procurement officer prioritizes cost. Customized ads that speak directly to their role increase relevance and conversion likelihood.
6. Present a Clear Value Proposition
Your ad must answer “What’s in it for me?” within seconds. Highlight how your product or service solves a problem or delivers value. A direct, benefit-oriented statement increases click-through and conversion rates by aligning with user intent.
7. Ensure Landing Page Consistency
Your display ad and landing page must speak the same language. If your ad offers a free trial, the landing page should lead with that same offer. This seamless experience fosters trust and improves conversion by eliminating user confusion or friction.
8. Test Multiple Sizes and Formats
Performance varies by format. While 728×90 and 300×250 are common top performers, you should test multiple ad sizes, placements, and formats to discover what resonates with your audience. A/B testing allows for data-backed refinement and better ROI.
9. Explore Static vs. Animated Banners
Static ads deliver clear, focused messages; animated banners are great for demos or storytelling. Both have their place in B2B marketing. Test each to understand which format aligns best with your campaign goals, message complexity, and target audience behavior.
10. Leverage Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO)
DCO allows you to personalize ads in real-time based on a user’s context or behavior. For example, showing industry-specific copy or highlighting products the user previously viewed increases relevance. Personalization through DCO can significantly improve engagement and conversion rates, especially when used in tandem with account-based selling strategies.
Conclusion
Display advertising is a dynamic and cost-effective way to boost brand visibility, drive traffic, and generate leads across digital platforms. With versatile formats and targeting options, it enables marketers to connect with the right audience at the right time. While it comes with challenges like ad fatigue and attribution issues, these can be addressed through creative design, strategic targeting, and ongoing optimization. Whether you’re working with a team or managing it solo, a well-executed display campaign can be a valuable part of your marketing strategy and a strong driver of revenue growth.
