There are a lot of myths about banner ads out there. While we've already debunked a few of these, today we'll turn our mythbusting sights specifically to animated banner ads. It's impossible to browse the internet for very long without seeing them, but does animation really make banner ads better? Surprisingly, the answer is no. Here are three reasons why:

Flash Is Dead

As far as support and compatibility are concerned, Flash has been on its way out for a long time. Though banners that use Flash-based animation are easy to create, they isolate quite a large audience right off the bat. Adobe has created Animate, which is friendly with all browsers and devices.

Election season is here, and while marketers may feel it's harder to cut through the noise of the various local, state and federal elections happening during this busy time, the 2016 election season is actually revealing a number of interesting insights about consumer behavior.

In fact, Google recently published a voter behavior report containing the following three insights:

It's time to start thinking about back-to-school marketing ideas. Retailing Today cited a report that 62 percent of households plan to reduce back-to-school spending this year. So, with these expected cutbacks, how can you get a jump on your competitors to make sure you're ready when parents and students get ready for the first day of school? Here's some ideas.

Kids Love Facebook

Kids influence purchase decisions, so if you want to create a buzz among young people, target students using social media and promote your products where they hang out. According to a report from Common Sense Media, 45 percent of teens and tweens use social media every day. Think about incorporating your products into a Facebook game with a sponsored link.

Digital advertising changes, but concerns around brand safety remain at the top of ad buyers' minds. According to eMarketer, 26 percent of brands purchasing digital ad space cited brand safety as their top concern when choosing where and how to advertise, underscoring the need to provide assurances to those consumers.

Those companies are fortunate that brand safety solutions on digital ad exchanges make it possible to avoid much of the online advertising space that might be a poor fit for their campaign. But don't take an ad network's word for it — every company should know what features can ensure brand safety and protect ad content from potentially damaging associations.

Among the many reasons consumers seek out ad blocking software is the drag that slow-loading ads place on browsers. However, according to a report in Digiday, Google could be exploring the idea of creating an acceptable ads policy that would cut back on how much data ads require and how long they take to load. But could an acceptable ads policy really change consumer behavior?

It All Began With a L.E.A.N.

While this new initiative has impressive scope, this isn't the first time such a policy has been created in response to ad blocking. As Marketing Land notes, last year, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced its L.E.A.N. (light, encrypted, ad choice supported, noninvasive ads) program, which was intended to address some of the tech concerns that had been fueling the growth of ad blocking — such as autoplay and flashing ads. But, as Digiday points out, the IAB's program is not enforceable, so it only works if many advertisers and publishers subscribe to its standards.

If you think seasonal advertising is all about the holiday shopper, think again. The summer season can actually help you promote your business, especially if you're in a field related to the changing temperatures, like a garden center or an HVAC company. No matter what your business, if you experience seasonal highs and lows, here are some tips to help you capitalize on the season's trends.

Sponsor the Weather

Whether you're advertising on TV or online, running an ad around a forecast means you've got the attention of an audience interested in what's happening outside. As the temperatures rise, so will interest in products like frozen yogurt shops, tanning beds and air conditioners. A recent article in Marketing Land shows that some 50 percent of consumers research purchases on computers, while a majority (67 percent), still buy in-store. In other words, the path to purchase is complex. Linking your brand with a consumer who is already interested in a core aspect of your business gets you over the hurdle of distraction.

The banner ad creation process can be intense. After creating eye-catching graphics, A/B split testing different calls-to-action and even working on device optimization, it's easy to feel like you've finished the job once the perfect banner ad finally comes together. But, in some respects, the journey is just beginning, as even the most perfect banner ad won't be very effective if it doesn't reach the right audience. Fortunately, there are some banner ad best practices to get the ball rolling after the ad creation phase.

Adweek reported that 80 percent of digital ads are ignored, and 63 percent of millennials use ad-blocking software to eliminate display ads from their browsers entirely. Even worse, Google's Rich Media Gallery shows that, of those who can see ads, only 0.18 percent will ever click on them. To put that in perspective, you're more likely to be audited by the IRS or be born with an extra finger or toe than ever click on a banner ad, according to statistics from SheKnows.

It's easy to see why marketers may want to move away from banner ads. However, click-through rate isn't the only indicator of success, and abandoning banner ads based on these statistics could be a big mistake.

What is ad blocking? From the perspective of consumers, the prospect is win-win. Not only can they bypass content they didn't elect to see, but they can save on data costs by not loading it. However, for marketers, this can seem like a zero-sum game. It's easy to get frustrated by this behavior, but taking a hard look at where ad blocking is happening (and where it is going) can help you get in front of this growing trend.

What Is Ad Blocking?

Most marketers know that ad blocking is add-on software that users seek out and download with the intent of stopping display ads from loading on a requested page. While the concept is pretty straightforward, the "add-on" part of the equation is somewhat mystifying. Many consumers simply don't bother to seek out browser extensions, making it less of a pressing issue than some marketers might fear. In fact, data reported by Fortune shows that only 6 percent of Internet users around the world are actively blocking ads. Although that figure is low, the same report shows that ad blocking is on the rise, particularly among millennials.

The trick to hosting a successful event isn't just putting on a show that people will enjoy. More often than not, it's a matter of making sure interested fans know about the event in the first place. With so much digital content competing for the attention of customers, it's easy for a promising event to get lost in the fray.

Thanks to location-based targeting strategies, digital channels have become a valuable way to address this issue and dispense event marketing materials. Brands can seek out smart partnerships and relevant advertising destinations to reach their target audience and build interest for their event weeks — or months — in advance.