Rich media

Rich media is the fancier end of display advertising. Instead of a flat image, the ad might expand when tapped, play video inside the banner, let you swipe through products, spin a 3D model or play a mini-game. On mobile, rich media often uses the MRAID standard so ads can interact with the app environment.

Rich media ads are usually built in HTML5 and served by specialist ad servers or creative platforms that also track interactions, such as expansions, dwell time and video quartiles. They typically cost more to produce and carry higher CPMs, but aim for better attention and brand impact.

The downsides are weight and risk. Heavy creatives slow pages and increase latency; poorly built ones break layouts; and complex code gives cover for malvertising. Publishers therefore set file-size and behaviour limits, and some formats, such as auto-playing audio, violate the Better Ads Standards.

Think of it like this

Rich media is like a shop window with a working demonstration inside, rather than a printed poster of the product.

An example

A car ad expands from 320×50 to full screen on tap, shows a 360° interior view, and records an average 14 seconds of interaction time.