Bye bye Banners

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has delisted several ad unit sizes, including both the full banner (468x60) and half banner (234x60).

The delisting is part of a trend by advertisers toward ad types that more effectively communicate their brands in the ways they want them displayed.

Criteria used by the IAB in selecting the new ad types includes how effectively the ad format allowed for the advertiser's brand to be displayed, how positively the user was impacted by the ad format, how well the ad format fit with page formats, and how easily the format could be adopted by publishers for use on their web pages.

The trend for online ad formats seems to be moving toward leaderboards (728x90), and rectangular ad units. Even half page ads that run 300x600 and take up one entire side of a web page.

What does this mean for the writer? It is all about those looking to promote their books or writing skills. Suppose you are looking to launch a marketing campaign for your new book. You have a better chance for targeting the sites you want to target if you make sure that you are creating the right ad formats and not an outdated format. Most people creating an advertising campaign would likely start with a full banner ad size, which is no longer a preferred size.