Online banner ads can often seem like one of the great contradictions in direct marketing: Few people actually bother to click through them – but companies keep buying them anyway because they’re cheap.

But Chris Saridakis, CEO of marketing technology provider PointRoll, sees a rather simple solution to the impotence of banner ads – stop asking Web users to click the darn things.

In an age where consumers have the power to blow off advertising in almost any medium – and too often do – Saridakis says direct marketers attempting to integrate the Web into their campaigns have to remember that a delicate balance is necessary. Banner ads have to be engaging and noticeable, yes. But they cannot be annoying, intrusive and so rude as to ask a Web user to leave one site for another before he’s ready.

Enter rich media advertising, a growing segment of online marketing technology that embeds into banner ads video, audio, animation and, most important to marketers, an unprecedented interactivity. Instead of asking users to click on banner ads and be transported to a brand’s Web site to get more information, rich media allows users to simply roll their cursor over an ad to receive a compelling interactive message and eye-catching graphics. (From there, they can link to the advertiser’s site if they so choose.)

“People go to Web sites to look for content, not ads, but when given 10 or 20 seconds to spend time rolling over the mouse to learn something and not have to click away – and to then go back to what they were reading – they’re more inclined to do that,” Saridakis says.

BOOSTING DIRECT

And the technology can readily be integrated into multichannel campaigns, he points out. One major company recently used PointRoll technology as part of its successful promotion of a dental hygiene product. The rich media ad opened by simply rolling a cursor over it, and it included a form that users could fill out to receive a $7 coupon in the mail.

Also, a paper manufacturer turned to PointRoll technology not long ago to push a new adhesive photo paper. The ad included a product demo, a list of participating retailers and the chance to request a free sample by mail.

“You’ll see the relationship between online ads, direct mail and retail evolve,” predicts Saridakis. “It’s very good for the retail space.”

At present, rich media advertising is a relatively small part of online marketing, accounting for just less than 10 percent of Web ads, but it’s proving effective. For example, PointRoll ads average 6 percent customer interaction, says senior brand marketing manager Becky Churilla, whereas the click-through rate for static banners is a paltry .03 percent.

HANGING WITH THE BOYS

As interest in rich media banner ads grows, the technology’s providers are developing a range of products for ad designers hungry for fresh ways to get attention and deliver information.

Take PointRoll’s menu, for instance: Its “FatBoy” banners expand on touch to expose multiple message panels. Meanwhile, the “FoldOver” expands up to half the size of the page when triggered by the user; “BadBoy” provides a free-floating image when the page opens, then retreats to an interactive banner; “TowelBoy” expands for a brief time when a page is downloaded – it is a “polite download” of video, not interfering with the opening of a page – then it snaps back to standard size.

Recently, the company introduced “PaperBoy,” which turns retail circulars into dynamic online banners that can be delivered to local Web sites. It offers coupons, shopping list creation, a store locator, calendar reminders and instant e-mail responses to requests for information. All PointRoll products can work together in a single ad.

Equally important is the wealth of metrics that rich media advertising can provide to advertisers, an advantage that makes it vastly superior to other media in understanding customers.

“A lot of the reporting we do is on the user’s behavior within that ad unit,” explains Saridakis, whose company has captured three-fourths of the rich media advertising market. “It’s like a miniature Web site, and we can track every single component of it and tie it back to behavior we can influence offline.

“We use each medium to complement others, to get people to do things they might not otherwise do, rather than having media cannibalize each other.”

TARGETING DIRECT MAIL

For example, Saridakis points out that it is hard to get consumers to rip out the bottom of a newspaper ad and mail it, but it’s easy for them to fill out an online form and have things mailed to them. Some brands build their customer lists from responses to Web ads and can then mail out glossy brochures and more information, he says.

“It’s more efficient for companies to target direct response marketing through the mail based on data they get from an online ad unit because the company then knows the customer is interested, instead of ‘they live in this zip code and maybe they’ll like this,’” says Saridakis. “Direct mail can become more and more targeted.”

Eventually, he sees customers going from an ad to building the exact car they want, then receiving a customized brochure in the mail with the exact features and colors they wanted, along with a list of local dealerships and their inventory.

The ability to have online and offline marketing complement each other is particularly attractive to financial services, pharmaceuticals and movie studios. (The first major campaign that PointRoll did was a 10-minute online video to launch the DVD for a Hollywood blockbuster film.)

“Direct mail isn’t going away; it’s just going to become more targeted,” adds Churilla. “Rich media targets people who are going to be receptive to your message.”