The Importance of Ad Context

Any time you're running a display ad in print, you obviously want to choose the venue -- the magazine or paper you're running in. You want your ad to match the audience. Even better if you can choose the content it's running with -- and some publishers will run your ad alongside your editorial material if you've written an article or are getting featured in an interview or something like that.

Even if they don't feature you alongside your content (as it might appear to be a conflict of interest), having content and a print ad in the same issue is a way of reinforcing brand awareness and your message. This is an instance when I most encourage print ads.

Context is of course the reason for choosing keywords related to your ad when running ads online. Only sometimes ... that can backfire. Click here for a funny blog entry with 10 instances where an ad is running ... well, let's just say in an unideal setting. All because the keywords ARE related.