Pop advertising gets a bad name – and many who use it don’t defend its effectiveness – but it’s withstood years of backlash, ad blockers and changing user dynamics that make this a continuous facet of marketing relevance.
Yet many marketers behind successful campaigns steer clear of pop ads – thinking them outdated, too pushy. But that’s not the case.
Once one learns the cognitive psychology behind effective campaigns, pop ads make a lot more sense when successful and established from the right angle.
That doesn’t mean trying to force attention, but acknowledging the subtleties of attention and guiding campaigns in predictable yet organic ways as to how users would go about browsing.
If a marketer honors the realities of cognition, modern pop advertising will prevail.
Human Attention is Predictable
Where marketers think pop ads are attention-grabbing features going against the grain of cognitive ability and commercial intention, that’s not the case. It’s bad timing.
Each user operating within the digital space experiences cognitive load differently – and sometimes it peaks while reading an extensive page. Other times, cognitive load is at a minimal low as one finishes an article and prepares to shift gears.
When cognitive load is low – transitioning from one thought to another, task to task, approach to approach – the most applicable advertising reaches people. Pop ads are more powerful when people are in transitional states – even if it’s just a moment of pause at the end of their day.
If they’ve just read an entire article or compiled a checklist and take a moment to get up from their chair to get a drink, their cognitive receptiveness is more heightened than if they’re feverishly digging into something overly complex.
Conversely, the worst pop ads occur when people are at peak cognitive load – not finishing an article with five minutes left before a meeting. They struggle to read through a distractive lens and form negative attitudes toward brands because they’d like to close it instead of engaging.
Predictably, if you catch someone at their wits end, you won’t have them on your side.
Context is Everything
Contextual relevance doesn’t just exist on sites accessed but also within anticipated means through searching. For example, a productivity software pop ad while someone researches work-related resources is justified – but when someone wants to catch up on their favorite show, it makes no sense.
Therefore, contextual relevance has less to do with context around single items but more so with what’s surrounding them – in some cases, what’s outside the realm of the pop ad itself. Effective campaigns will dig into the available context and perceived context that could be primary-necessary – thanks to user expectations – and superimpose something related through pop formatting versus making assumptions based on mental engagement.
The psychology behind this includes priming – when someone processes information that focuses on one topic, they could subconsciously be led to complementary ideas with less effort and more cohesion as some means of thought are already employed.
Effective pop ads position themselves naturally because they’ve taken the extra step to become involved rather than residually sitting on the sidelines with an offer.
Signals Predict User Intent
Not all users are created equally – and while an addressable audience is looking for commonality through marketed targeting, user behavior suggests how much effort anyone has put forth already and what next steps would be most beneficial for them – and others.
Pop ads work when they’re better timed because there’s a signal that indicates this opportunity for effectiveness.
For example, exit-intent technology where a user moves the cursor near the X in the browser gives that person away. Pop ads that manifest as the cursor approaches that location are catching at the right moment – when all content engagement has momentarily dissipated for something new.
At this point, since someone is leaving anyway – it might as well be somewhat relevant.
Other metrics include when someone scrolls down far enough within the page. They’ve spent enough time engaging superficially – investing in themselves deeper than others who’ve only read the first paragraph.
No matter what these signals deduce, they acknowledge psychological and behavioral realities that guide them toward one conclusion – and when marketers respect this, it becomes easier than forcing relevance via pop formatting.
A Quick Message is Better Than No Message
Pop ads don’t always have the opportunity to give someone time to digest. Therefore, clarity is king. The clearer and more concise an advertiser can render its message by superimposing something necessary enough for transmission in only a few seconds – the more successful it will be.
On the contrary, any message too complicated drowns in cognitive overload as users are processing information they’ve previously engaged with – and now want relevant access for something new through interest or reach.
If it’s anything but accessible, users will dismiss it outright creating fast-action negative impressions toward whatever product or service is championed.
It’s not just message clarity that matters either – visual hierarchy gets a point across without giving anyone time for structure in which to comprehend information. There are superpowered aspects that become critical without any real backing – merely assumed by common sense that people will know what’s most important first – and what’s secondary or tertiary afterward.
Effective pop ads give accessible returns in engagement because they’ve prepared them neatly organized and simplified for quick retrieval before sending prospects on their way.
A Trustworthy Approach
People nowadays know their digital spaces too well; if something looks suspect – or like it’s trying too hard – they’ll toss it out quicker than ever without another thought. Pop advertising capitalizes upon this predictive reality and attempts to overcome by ensuring people they’re not trying to sell them anything – they just want their engagement!
It’s all disingenuous which prevents initial trustworthiness before integrity and engagement prove otherwise. Transparency through digital formatting requires certain tactics outside of obvious messaging that makes trustworthiness unrealistic if it doesn’t start with positive engagement.
Pop ads that promise strong outcomes instead of one-time-only returns that never come back again – honest titles versus clickbait – help create expectation for unlikely converters less than those properly aligned based on topic trajectory.
A huge facet of trustworthiness involves accessible exit opportunities. If someone wants out – they should be able to get out without penalty. If they can’t access their desired outcome without cutting out first – even if it’s rhetorical – no one walks away happy.
An Intelligent Outcome for Pop Ads
The best strategies for successful pop advertising understand all facets of timing – from setting oneself up for distraction-free engagement over sustained periods to ensuring there are real-life contextual pieces engaged alongside potential presumptions about what users should be thinking based upon time spent on sites thus far – not just what they’ve done – but potentially, what day and time it is.
The more sophisticated they look – the more people will feel empowered to engage – and thus they’ll likely pay attention because they’ll feel respected along the way instead of forced into an area where there’s little benefit for anyone involved.
Don’t demand attention – respect it. Don’t generalize value – give something tangible. Don’t interrupt negotiation – time it effortlessly! It creates an important response that those employing sophisticated means will likely render over time across multiple endeavors from championed campaigns.
