Re: Banner ads vs. sponsorships...one more time

From: Tracee Martin-Fries <tfries_at_nbc12.com>
Date: Thu 04 Jan 2001 11:11:16 -0500

DERROL D. MOORHEAD <DDM_at_mgma.com> WROTE:
> I have read with great interest the last few months,
> everyone's take on banner advertising, is it dead or
> not, are sponsorships replacing banners, etc. My
> question is this: Can anyone point me to a site (or
> sites) where they are doing sponsorships successfully?

Derrol,

My company also struggles with the sponsorship vs.
banner ad issue, however, we have found that the banner
ad model provides better results for our clients (and
more profit for us.)

You noted that your banners are not very attractive to
potential clients due to their position on the page. I
think this is one of the MOST IMPORTANT issues to
consider when selling internet ads. I would suggest to
you that your site be modified so that your banner
positions are "above the fold." It seems to me (without
knowing any of your technical requirements) that you
could fit a 468 (in the main column) and a 120 (in the
left column) banner very near the top of your page
without losing space for branding. This will definitely
make your ads more appealing.

Then, if you still want to follow the sponsorship
option, you can do it in conjunction with the banners.
We offer both options to our advertisers. In all
honesty, I haven't seen many sites that are do the
sponsorship model very well (with the exception of
Clickz.com and their HTML emails) My company
continually changes our sponsorship model while looking
for the most benefit possible to the client, without
compromising the integrity of the information we
provide. (We are a news organization afterall, and we
have to be careful in how we deliver sponsored
content.)

Good luck!

Tracee Martin-Fries
Director, Integrated Marketing
804.230.2771
tfries_at_nbc12.com
NBC12 - Richmond, VA
http://www.nbc12.com





Received on Thu Jan 04 2001 - 10:11:16 CST