In a report comparing the performance for rich media and static banner ads on mobile devices, GoldSpot Media found that the former resulted in fewer accidental clicks.

The Fat Finger Report found that rich media banner ads had a 4 percent click-through rate compared to 2 percent for static banners. However, in a post-click engagement comparison, 38 percent of the clicks on static banner ads were accidental while only 13 percent were accidental on rich media banner ads.

?Mobile rich media banners that engage the user before a tap with 3D. Motion, video and animation result in minimal accidental clicks as they are harder to ignore on the limited smartphone real estate,? said Srini Dharmaji, CEO of GoldSpot Media, Sunnyvale, CA. ?The CTR and post-click engagement rates are also very high justifying a CPM ad buy.

?The highest number of accidental clicks are observed on intrusive overlay placements - e.g. IAB Adhesion Mobile Rising Stars Ad Unit,? he said. ?Ad placement has a huge impact on the fat finger clicks count.

CPM vs. CPA
Static banners are more prone to accidental clicks because they often appear to be part of the content on the screen and may be tapped by a user unintentionally as a result.

With rich media banner ads that use 3D, motion, video and animation running in the banner space, it is harder for the user not to notice the ad and to click on it accidentally.

When GoldSpot excluded accidental clicks, the click-through rate for static banner ads dropped to 1.06 percent while the click-through rate for rich media banner ads dropped to 3.08 percent.

The results suggest CPM campaigns  ?  where the brand pays by the number of impressions ?  may be better suited to rich media ads while cost per acquisition strategies may work better for static banners.

GoldSpot defined an accidental click as any where the user engagement lasted less than two seconds. In other words, the user closed an ad, app or site within two seconds of clicking on a banner.

Rushed commuters
GoldSpot took a look at millions of banner impressions from automotive, CPG, travel, entertainment and finance campaigns delivered to mobile users in the third quarter of this year.

The rich media ad units reviewed in the report include 3D rotator, scroller and full banner video.

The report also investigates the times of day when accidental clicks are mostly like to occur and found that in the morning, or around morning commute time, is when accidental clicks are most likely to happen for any type of banner add This suggests that accidental clicks increase when users are hurried and consuming content on a phone at a rapid pace.

Accidental clicks drop to their lowest level later in the morning and then increase slightly in the evening as consumers engaging in more multi-tasking behavior.

?Static banners are best suited for CPA campaigns,? Mr. Dharmaji said. ?Advertisers yield maximum ROI on static banners only if they pay based on cost per action-lead, call and install.

Advertisers will be throwing away a majority of their budgets if they buy static banner campaigns based on CPM or CPC model,? he said. ?The best way to derive maximum mileage out of mobile is to buy rich media banners based on CPM model, and static banners based on CPA model.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York