When you hear the term “creative” within a conversation related to advertising, most people think of the visual representation that includes images, copy, etc. I think “media creative” is often overlooked and is something our agency is currently focusing on. Interestingly enough, following an internal meeting we had regarding creative media, we attended a local Ad Club session discussing the very same topic. Media Buyers and Planners are constantly facing the challenge of how to “cut through the clutter” and I think it takes a collaboration between the media and creative departments to come up with both creative visual representations and creative placement ideas to achieve results. Creative media placements can range from homepage takeovers, owning the units on a page, wall paper to roadblocks and expandable banners. Rich media enables the creative department to further enhance the creative by synchronizing road blocks or adding an interactive element to the banners. The recent Mac synchronized roadblock on the NYTimes.com is a great example of creative at its best. I recently read an article on iMedia regarding rich media, written by the VP of Strategy and Marketing at PointRoll and was surprised that only 5% of online ads include some form of rich media. I understand there is an additional cost associated with this type of placement, but if interaction rates are going to be significantly higher why not work the creative costs into the existing budget? There is so much opportunity online to be creative with the placement and visual execution, perhaps if we all do it right we can add value to the sites we are running on. There is a fine line between being creative/engaging and intrusive which is why it is vital for planners and buyers to focus on relevancy and implement frequency caps to ensure a good user experience.