This study investigates the impact of content and design elements on
the click-through rates of banner advertisements using data from 8,725
real banner advertisements. It is one of the first empirical studies to
examine banner advertising effectiveness (measured by click-through
rates) and also one of the first to examine the differences between
business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) banner
advertisements.The authors acknowledge
the financial and data support of Michael Moore and Marianna Dizik in
the conduct of this study.
Content elements examined
include the use of incentives and emotional appeals. Design elements
examined include the use of interactivity, color, and animation.
Results suggest that content and design elements do not work the same
way for B2B and B2C banner advertisements.