#Q4Prep – 4 Types of Call-to-Actions

As you are developing your creative inventory for Q4, we thought it might be helpful to provide a little inspiration and best practices on banner ads and call to actions. Banner ads are one very important piece of your creative inventory and should be targeted towards your consumer. There are, of course, a number of different styles, sizes and types of to choose from – so let’s go through a few!

1. Category Focused.
Do you have popular categories on your website? Create banners specifically around those categories.

2. Product Focused.
Best selling products? Develop creatives targeted towards these particular products.

3. Seasonal & Holiday.
This is big! Create holiday or seasonal specific banners. Holiday Gifts, Halloween Costumes, Back to School Books, Valentine’s Day, etc..

4. Deep Landing Pages.
Take out as many ‘clicks’ as possible for your consumer. Targeted banners should land on deep linking pages.

5. Traditional Advertisement.
Are you running an ad campaign currently? Use those to develop a consistent message across the web.

• CTA Phrase: Free Shipping
• CTA Style: Arrow & Drop Shadow

Banner Advertisements should be simple, eye pleasing and to the point. Capture a viewer with a mixture of fonts and pretty pictures. Use a strong, popular call to action, like “Free Shipping!” along with a clear and sharp button.

• CTA Phrase: Shop Now!
• CTA Style: Circular & Soft Two-Tone

This banner follows the same principles as before, but now we have incorporated a larger two-tone call to action laid on top of the colorful product image.

• CTA Phrase: Learn More
• CTA Style: Rectangular Button & Beveling

Remember to play to your audience, as demonstrated in this particular creative. A retailer promoting rare and exclusive offers wants to exude class and sophistication. A ‘free shipping’ or ‘shop now’ call to action is too pushy and strong for this type of ad. Learn More, in this case, is simple and classic. 

• CTA Phrase: Learn More
• CTA Style: Bottle Cap Shape & Backlighting

Here again, we are playing to our audience, but have added a light and airy feel to the ad. This chocolate is classy, but fun. Use different shapes, textures and lighting to add an extra pop to your call to action.

*Special thanks to our new graphic designer Rachael for creating our lovely example banners!