Planning advertising into responsive web design
In terms of advertising, what’s holding back responsive web design is our desire to apply an old monetization model to new ways of publishing content…and it’s not working.
If a business chooses ad revenue as a monetization strategy, a responsive approach can completely change outcomes.
Is that a problem? I would argue no. Not if you plan for it.
Every passing day presents greater opportunity to deliver content (and advertising) to more people in more contexts across screen sizes and device types.
But a problem arises when you try to fit the old model — or old banner standard sizes of desktop days — into the new landscape of varied devices.
In our AndrewZimmern.com experience (which, shameless plug, is up for a Webby award), we planned for advertiser and sponsored content to live in harmony with the recipes and adventure stories. The ads needed to flex just like the content does in order to fit on any screen size.
We planned for different spots — from a more traditional ad tile, to a background takeover, to sponsored content spots. All of which we considered from design and technical standpoints — with responsiveness being a key requirement from the get-go.
Key to our success? Communication. And consideration of the bigger (and smaller) picture.
Originally published at blog.gokartlabs.com on April 18, 2013.