Halo Companion Banner

Overview

After Kargo successfully developed its proprietary video player, Fabrik, the company was able to offer both in-player video ad placements and companion banner spaces. To take advantage of this expanded inventory, I designed two innovative ad formats that optimized both the use of available real estate and the aesthetic experience for users.

Project Statement

Building on the capabilities of the Fabrik player and the newly designed ad formats, I led the end-to-end creation and launch of two high-impact executions in Q1 2025. These formats were strategically crafted to enhance user engagement while maintaining visual harmony across video and banner placements. I oversaw the full design process and collaborated cross-functionally to ensure successful implementation across multiple campaigns. Additionally, I conducted comprehensive training sessions for internal teams—design, sales, and marketing—as well as external partners and vendors, ensuring a consistent and scalable rollout.

Process

Category: Video Ad Product

Role: Lead Interactive Designer

Platform: Mobile and Desktop

Timeline: Feb 2024 - Jan 2025

[01] Research

Analyzed user behavioral data to uncover pain points and engagement drop-offs in the existing video ad experience.

Assessed spatial limitations of the video player and companion banner placements within the publisher’s page to inform layout and design decisions.

Conducted competitive benchmarking to identify industry best practices and emerging trends in video advertising formats, with a focus on user experience and creative impact.

[02] Insight

Users expressed frustration with unclear branding and messaging in commercial ads, which reduced overall engagement and brand recall.

Mobile users found the video player’s click-out-to-website behavior unintuitive and often triggered it unintentionally, leading to a disrupted viewing experience and lower ad effectiveness.

[03] Design Solution

Integrated companion banners alongside the traditional video player to create a more immersive, non-disruptive experience that encourages deeper user engagement.

The presence of companion banners also clarifies the click intent, making user interactions more deliberate and reducing accidental click-throughs.

Displayed brand logos and key messaging persistently throughout the ad experience to improve brand visibility and ensure clear, consistent communication.

Initial Sketches

[04] Testing & Iteration

Conducted usability testing to gather feedback from internal stakeholders and target users, then refined the design to address usability gaps and improve clarity.

Held weekly cross-functional syncs with engineers to ensure technical feasibility and adapt the design to publisher website constraints—while maintaining visual impact and interactivity.

Designed with a mobile-first approach, prioritizing touch-friendly interactions and clear, legible messaging to enhance engagement on smaller screens.

High Fidelity Mocks

Pivotal Direction

[01] Key Challenge Uncovered

During the design process, we discovered that most publisher websites enforced strict limitations around the video player space. Specifically, many required that video ad formats remain under 440px in height, which significantly impacted our initial design concepts and required us to rethink layout strategy.

[02] How We Solved It

To adapt to these constraints, we tested character limits for text legibility and explored different placements for branding elements. Through iteration, we found that the top and bottom areas of the video player were the most effective zones for placing key assets like logos, copy, and call-to-action buttons.

After several rounds of exploration and refinement, we narrowed our concepts down to two high-performing formats:

  • Split Frame – which balanced content and branding across defined areas

  • Full Frame – which maximized visual impact in the limited space

Final Design

Split

Halo Companion Banner

Full

Halo Companion Banner

Top and bottom companion banners surround the video player, providing dedicated space for branding elements. Displaying logos and messaging in these areas enhances brand awareness, while the banner’s click-to-website functionality makes user engagement more intentional. Subtle banner animations help capture attention and contribute to a higher video completion rate.

The Full Frame format utilizes all four sides—top, bottom, left, and right—surrounding the video with a fully immersive branded experience. Animated banners appear behind the video content, gradually revealing the brand logo, messaging, and a clear call-to-action. This format not only enhances brand awareness but also provides intuitive visual cues that guide users to explore further. The use of all four sides allows for more natural edge-based design possibilities, resulting in a visually elevated and aesthetically refined video ad experience.

  • KPI | Brand Awareness, Engagement, Video Completion

  • Use cases | CPG, Hospitality, Auto

  • KPI | Brand Awareness, Engagement, Video Completion

  • Use cases | CPG, Hospitality, Auto

Outcome

35% increase in engagement rate

25% increase in video completion rate

20% improvement in ad recall (memory rate)