While of course you should follow our best practices for all ads, in the extremely competitive digital steel cage death match arena of pharmaceuticals and finance, these guidelines can help you stand out a bit more.

Pharma:
Sometimes it can be weeks before you can get a doctor’s appointment.  But medical information online is available 24/7.  Plus, you can ask the most embarrassing questions without anyone knowing.  Drug companies take advantage  of this.  The only problem, it can be extra difficult to get noticed and not look obnoxious at the same time.  How to walk that delicate balance?

1. Mini-quizzes in the banners.  How often do you suffer from heartburn? How bad is your heartburn on a scale of 1-10?  Questions are great ways to get the users attention. Plus, it’s a great filter. Once the user interacts with the banner, then they are that much more receptive to the message on the landing page.

2. Landing page that segues seamlessly from the banner. It should look and feel like the banner. Perhaps continuing with a quiz and it should have information about the drug/medical procedure.

3. Reflect health, not sickness. Remember, you want to show the benefit of using the drug (being healthier) not why you need the drug in the first place. No need to show warts and all (literally).

4. Movement/Animation. Even if it’s a simple quiz on a banner, make sure there is animation. The answers should alternately highlight. The click for more info button should glow. Don’t stop at 15 seconds unless required.

Finance:

It seems like every insurance company is offering the LOWEST rates and you can get a refi rate for .00001%.  It all starts to sound like the same thing. So what works?

1. Fun animation. It doesn’t matter if the animation has nothing to do with money.  In fact, who wants to be reminded just how dire things really are?  The advertiser may have the best deals in the industry, but if no one notices, it doesn’t matter.

2. Interaction. What state are you in? How much do you want to pay a month? How much do you need to borrow?  This helps filter users, also.

3. Don’t get too complicated. Don’t ask more than one question. If doing a “game” makes it more game-esque than an actual game. Any clicks should open the landing page.

4.  Unless the advertiser truly has the lowest interest rates (and quotable source) focus on how little you can pay a month.  Notice how car salesman talk a lot more about how low your monthly payment will be? There’s a reason for that.  It’s much easier to handle a (relatively) small number.