Interstitial ads, or interstitial banners, are full-screen advertisements that cover the entire interface of an app or a webpage. And here is how these ads can help marketers.
What is Interstitial Ads?
Interstitial ads are full-screen ads that appear in an app between content transitions, most typically between page loads and during transitions. Literally, it means ads placed on interstitials, meaning spaces that intervene. Accordingly, these ads consume the entire screen space to display promotional content, often disrupting the user experience to showcase image or video content. An interstitial ad example would be the ads played in games in order to earn more in-game currency, where the ad plays through the full-screen. However, users are also given the opportunity to close the ad and return to the content they were watching or the game they were playing.
Importance of Interstitial Ads for Marketers
Interstitial advertising is one of the most popular and effective forms of promotion for marketers, and one that is also a crucial monetization method. It gives you the advantage of having the full attention of the user as they can see nothing but the ad on the screen, and also allows the publisher to keep the ad separate from their app content.
The biggest benefit of such ads is that there is no potential for the user to ignore them, which can unconsciously happen if the ads are placed in banners or small ad spaces. The full-screen placement makes it impossible to interact, almost like TVC ads where there is nothing other than the ad to interact with. Accordingly, it also leads to higher engagement as opposed to smaller banner ads, increasing the chances of engagement and conversion.
Getting the Most Out of Interstitial Ads
Most interstitial ads examples can be found in games or video-viewing platforms. However, it is important to note that in the case of such content, the user would expect to engage with the content more than the ad. So, placing frequent ads on the interstitial can have adverse effects as the user can feel frustrated, reducing the user experience. It can also lead to accidental clicks, which can ultimately lead to the user developing a poor impression of your product or service.
Thus, it is ideal to be sparse with the way you place the ads on your interstitial ads, meaning not placing too many of them, or even a few of them but in quick succession. The best response is often gained when the users need a little break from constant viewing of content. Additionally, in games, it can be ideal to place them after certain milestones rather than placing them after every level, to reduce user frustration.
Conclusion
When used well, interstitial ads can become a very powerful tool in your marketing efforts. By providing an immersive and unignorable experience, users of the publishing platform are bound to interact with it. And with strategy, you can make sure that this interaction leads to further engagement, not frustration.