Why the advertising industry needs to make the switch from Flash to HTML5.

The days of desktop advertising powered by Adobe Flash are coming to an end, and agencies that don’t start adapting now will soon find themselves left behind.

In September this year, Google will be making changes to the way the Flash banners are treated in its Chrome browser. Currently, when a Flash banner impression is served, the animation occurs automatically.

Whereas when this change comes into play, in order for the animation to begin, the user will need to click the banner and then click again to get to the destination.

For users of Firefox and Safari, this change has already been implemented as a default – to circumvent, the Flash plugin needs to be installed and enabled.

This comes as no surprise to many, as Flash has been on the way out for many years and is now not even supported by Adobe, who own the license for Flash.

With over 40% of the population using Chrome, another hoop for the user to jump through will severely impact the efficacy of digital display media.

So, why HTML5?

In addition to not being supported on a variety of browsers, Flash is also not supported on mobile devices. Plus it impacts browser speeds and the battery life of portable devices.

HTML is a browser-based “language” that the web is written in and is becoming standard for constructing interactive online content.

It can be run across desktop, mobile and tablets to ensure a seamless experience for consumers, and mitigate the costs of rebuilding ad units specifically for mobile.

While making this shift to HTML5 will be a challenge for an industry that has grown comfortable with Flash, this technical age demands we keep up, or fall behind.

The world’s largest event dedicated to advertising has ended. As always, good work was awarded and good work missed out – here are some of our favourites.

BABY STROLLER TEST-RIDE

Chicago agency, FCB created an adult-sized stroller for manufacturer Kolcraft, take a look below.

UNFAIRY TALES: MALAK AND THE BOAT

UNICEF'S animated retelling of a 7-year-old Syrian girl's journey across the Mediterranean, created by Santa Monica agency, 180LA.

JUSTINO

Leo Brunett Madrid's animated TV spot for the Spanish National Lottery picked up for an endearing animation about a man who works in a mannequin factory.

UNILVER HINDUSTANI

Raising awareness of India's prejudicial attitudes towards transgender people.

NY Times – The Displaced

The New York Times with T Brand Studio, built an accessible smartphone app for readers to become viewers – enhancing the reader experience through thoughtful and effective use of virtual reality. Making use of Google’s cardboard viewing headset for the experience.

BREWTROLEUM

DB Export, a brewery in New Zealand, announced it had created a biofuel made using leftover yeast, called “Brewtroleum”. View the entry here. 

Snapchat, the territory of Gen Z and Y has expanded its features to move it towards a much broader space – and may prove the next battleground for the coveted Millennial dollar.

The photo and video messaging application has become vastly popular in the past couple of years. With over 16.5 million active daily users, and an average of 14 visits a day, there’s no doubt Snapchat forms a large part of the social media diet of Millennials.

With the announcement of its first Australian office and rollout of the first self-service ad offering, the features available in other regions will become available in Australia – sponsored filters, lenses, Live Stories and 3D video insertions.

Pros

Opt-in Platform

Users choose to follow their friends and brands, if they keep coming back, they’re interested in your content – making them more qualified traffic. There are occasionally sponsored Snapchats, however it’s up to the user whether they want to open them or not.

Connection

If done properly, it can be a fun and exciting way of connecting with users in a more intimate way, in their language. Snapchat users’ attention spans are very short, this audience doesn’t want advertising, they want a brand experience – an entertaining one at that.

Storytelling

Unlike other platforms such as text based Twitter, you can create a storyline quite easily on Snapchat. There are plenty of tools available to keep it engaging: including text, emojis, geo-filters to brand content and slow/speed up functions.

Cons

Difficult to Grow Following

Start by cross promoting, and start creating – consistently! If you’re going to be on Snapchat your content has to be good. Some people assume that if businesses start using the app, they’ll constantly be receiving spam snaps. Prove them wrong and provide worthwhile content that reflects the brand’s personality.

Awareness

As a snap is only available to watch for 24 hours, and disappears completely after it has been watched – there is no longevity of content. This can work well in the case of a limited promotion where a user might have to screen shot a promotion code, or if they want to save it for another reason.

Data Tracking

The metrics are limited, so it can be difficult for brands to monetise and measure their forays into the app; with only how many viewed or screenshotted the snap available.

There is no ability to track followers, to see if they actually visit your website post view. However retention is one of the most important goals on Snapchat, keep them coming back to see your content.

So what brands are doing it right?

TacoBell, Sour Patch Kids, General Electric and DJ Khaled are a few front-runners in the category.