Ads featuring males faces, red backgrounds, and offers have higher conversion rates

Rocket Fuel's analysis of almost 40,000 banner ads across 2,183 marketing initiatives found that those featuring men average 102% higher conversion rates than those with no image of a person. However, ads featuring women drove conversion rates just 25% higher and those featuring both men and women were found to have 15% lower conversion rate.

Across the entertainment industry the male-female divide was even more significant. Ads with male celebrities had 670% higher conversion rates than those featuring women. Furthermore, while 41% of ads for entertainment products featured men, just 8% featured women.

"Some might look at the data and conclude that it over-prescribes creative opportunities," said Eric Porres, Rocket Fuel CMO. "But we think the opposite is true. The data illuminates what has worked well in the past, but it doesn't limit the discovery of what might work in the future. One of the best benefits of programmatic is that it enables affordable and fast real-world testing of literally any idea or hypothesis you can imagine. It opens possibilities - it doesn't close them."

Other key findings from the study include:

- Animated creatives averaged 7% higher conversation rates;

- Red backgrounds averaged 31% higher conversion rates across all verticals;

- Messaging about safety in automobile ads, as opposed to fuel efficiency or dependability, averaged 220% higher conversion rates;

- Travel ads that mentioned length of trip averaged 227% higher conversion rates than those without that information;

- Restaurant ads that offered more food at no additional price, such as free sides, averaged 284% higher conversion rates than price or contest based ads;

- Ads that include offers averaged 98% higher conversion rates than those that had no offer;

- Ad with logos places in the lower left corner have 81% higher conversion rates than those with a logo placed elsewhere.

Image via Shutterstock

Tags: advertising, banner ads, digital, online, study