Top 10 Tips from imc² on Creating a Successful iAd

Posted on 29. Aug, 2011 by The Relationship Era in Blog, Blog

P&G’s Secret deodorant brand asked imc² to create an iAd for the brand’s new purpose-inspired program, Secret Mean Stinks—an initiative formed to help girls stand up to bullying. To date, the Secret Mean Stinks program has received immense response from Facebook fans since its launch in early 2011, so it only made sense to further engage this target audience using a device they never leave home without—their iPhone.

During the development process, we learned some best practices that helped imc² create a successful iAd. Here are our top 10 Dos and Don’ts:

1. Do your own research up front. Look at the iAd gallery to see what works and what doesn’t. Have a working knowledge of what’s available to help you concept.

2. Do involve Apple early in the process. Have everyone on the same page from the first day to ensure success in the end.

3. Do share all of your ideas with Apple, even if you haven’t yet reviewed them with the client. Together, you can make the ideas even stronger.

4. Do schedule regular check-ins with Apple to keep their team abreast of progress.

5. Do be open to suggestions. An arrow might work better than a line of copy, etc. Be flexible to ensure better collaboration and a better end result.

6. Do provide a lot of options for iAd banners. Apple recommends six to eight variations and they can optimize messaging based on what performs best.

7. Do think about the importance of animation and how it will bring designs to life.

8. Don’t think you always need to take users to a menu screen first. Sometimes it makes more sense to drop users directly into one of the sections.

9. Don’t go overboard with messaging. Keep copy clear and concise and use graphics to enhance the messaging.

10. Don’t limit yourself to capabilities you’ve seen in other iAds.  Apple is willing to work with you to find the best solution, even if that means creating something new.

Since last month’s Secret Mean Stinks iAd launch, 23,000 women engaged with the Secret ad in the first 10 days, generating tap-through rates 50 percent ahead of the average for iAd. The iAd has more than one million unique impressions, with an average of 80 seconds spent on the ad and more than eight page views per visit.

Concurrently, the Secret Mean Stinks iAd encouraged 10,000 women to activate $1 donations to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center by requesting coupons online (including at the organization’s Facebook page) or downloading iAd wallpapers.

Working with Apple was a wonderful learning experience for imc², and this collaboration helped us create an engaging piece of work for our client, as well as identify best practices to apply to future iAds.

Thank you to our contributors: Jennifer Handline and Natalie Ritter

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