Flash and Marketing Effectiveness
Seems like every time Flash is brought up in forums, we're treated to a barrage of reasons why Flash is bad (or, as some put it, "evil").
Frankly, I don't "get" this at all. Sure, we've all seen Flash abuse, just as we've seen poor design or poor anything else. Flash is simply a technology for delivering moving images, and one I find far preferable to having to ensure that users have the right plugins for a specific format. (Besides, I keep uninstalling mine. Except for Flash.)
But let's take the complaints in order:
- Flash is annoying. Sure — if we're talking about a slow splash screen bearing a "we're all that" spinning logo and oh-so-slow swooping text with vague market-hype messages.
- Flash takes too long to download. Depends, doesn't it? ;-)
- Flash is evil. Deserves no comment.
- People like text. Yes. The fact that they like text doesn't mean they like walls of it at all times. They like to see what you're talking about, too.
- People don't like all-Flash websites. Neither do I, generally, but what does that have to do with *any* use of Flash whatsoever?
Okay; well enough and points well taken. My argument is that judicious and tasteful use of Flash can get the job done in that picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words way. For instance, Dyson Vaccuums. Tell me that still pictures would convey the concept as well. Or a JavaScript slide show. The best you could do, other than Flash, is animated gifs … and then only with images that shouldn't really be jpgs. Here's more Dyson.
By the way, the infomercial/website combination can be superb for sales. Mr. Dyson got $600 out of us — for a purple vacuum cleaner! Had I watched the infomercial? Yes. Had I made my husband watch it? I think so. But it took the website — particularly the Flash displays illustrating the Dyson technology and why it's superior — to sell us to the point where we'd do something about it.
(No, we didn't do the Dyson website but, I'm very happy with our Dyson. It's far better — and better built — than I thought it would be. And I'd had high hopes.)
By the way, if you're really interested, I wrote a Dyson vaccuums review over at Designer Jones.
One Comment to "Flash and Marketing Effectiveness"
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Garrick says:
Comment posted on 04/6/2005 @ 5:07 pm
Generally speaking, I don't enjoy visiting Flash sites. Flash isn't evil, per se, just as a gun evil either.
It's people who don't know how to use is properly that give it a bad reputation, I think.
Just because one 'can' make an image move, doesn't mean that they should. Gratuitous moving images doesn't really do it for me. If I want to watch a movie, I got to the movies.
I think the Dyson site is a fine example of Flash, used properly. It 'is' necessary to show movement (or air) to properly demonstrate the product's functionality and it doesn't do so simply be cause it can – it does so because it 'must'.
Good article. =)