MySpace MyAds: Bands Welcome, Brands Beware
Promote your... what exactly?
MySpace recently launched their MyAds advertising platform, set to compete with Facebook’s Social Ads. The platform seeks to replicate the self-serve nature of Social Ads, while extending additional options in terms of design and customization (graphically speaking).
The first thing to know about MyAds is that they are banners. These are not text ads like Google AdWords or Social Ads, these are full-on, old-school, Web 1.0 banners. You have two banner sizes available to you when you go to create a new MyAd, 728 x 90 or 300 x 250. Once you choose which banner size you’d prefer to create, you have the option of uploading your own pre-made media or creating a new banner using the platforms DIY banner tool. However, it’s hard to avoid noticing that every single banner template is geared towards bands, not brands — the template copy confirms this with references like “Artist Name Here,” “Buy New Album,” and “Live in Concert.”
MyAds Banner Template Gallery
Just for the sake of argument, I went ahead and created a branded example using the banner editor (disclosure: Huggies is NOT a client, just a random example). It’s clear to see these banner templates don’t conform well to the branding of most consumer products (excluding perhaps Guitar Hero).
Is this how you intend to reach new moms online?
After your ad is built, your next task is to establish your targeting criteria. Facebook Social Ads made headlines because they could be targeted by detailed information provided by users voluntarily through their profiles; MyAds take the same approach, but with much less to work with. For one thing, the categories just don’t provide enough granularity, and once again most of the options are more suited for promoting bands. Not all of the weakness of the targeting criteria can be blamed on the MyAds platform, however — MySpace profiles simply don’t collect as much data from users as in Facebook. In any case, the process is simple but the results are disappointing, as my only options for attempting to target new parents on behalf of Huggies was through an expressed interest in “children’s movies,” and “Disney” specifically.
MyAds targeting criteria are all hype and no substance.
Once you’ve got your ad set up, getting it out in front of MySpace users’ eyeballs is relatively straightforward, and very similar to other self-serve ad platforms. Set your daily budget, your CPC bid, and the term of your campaign, and you’re off.
Setting your budget and choosing your CPC bid is simple enough
Ultimately, the MyAds platform is a day late and a buck short. Compared to Social Ads, MyAds don’t provide nearly the granularity of targeting. But my biggest gripe is that fundamentally, they’re still just banners — injected into pages where they will cause the most disturbance, without the benefit of any sort of passive network endorsement the way Social Ads are supplemented by Social Actions. In the current economic environment, when brands are looking more closely than ever at their advertising budgets, MyAds only make sense if you’re looking to drive traffic to pages within MySpace — if you’re trying to promote a site outside of the realm of MySpace, there are better options out there and I would not spend a cent on MySpace MyAds.
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Excellent piece–and excellent blog. I’m here by way of Twitter. The information you provide about MySpace MyAds is invaluable for brands trying to increase visibility. I’m glad we’ve connected.
[...] said, I stand by my earlier assessment that the MyAds platform is outdone by Facebook’s Social Ads. But at least these two are in [...]