More Online Advertising Discussion Please

From: Kevin Frazier <kfrazier_at_adace.com>
Date: Fri 05 Oct 2001 11:48:27 -0500

Hello Everyone,

I used to really enjoy reading this list as it was packed
full of ideas, suggestions, and feedback from many key
individuals in the advertising field. It focused on
online advertising strategies, markets, case studies,
pricing, effectiveness, and formats. For the past month
now all I have seen is conversation about affiliate
programs. Has this list dwindled down to simply trying
to find a quick way to make a buck? I find myself
glancing at the headers of the digest, then immediately
closing it down and getting back to business, as I do not
see any value in reading or participating in the current
discussions. I can't imagine that I am the only one that
feels this way. I'd like to request that we all try to participate
 in making this list what it once was... a
valuable resource for advertising on the web. In order
to accomplish this we must all contribute by stimulating
new topics of discussion. I am going to start by trying
to pose a few questions to get things started. I hope
you will all join me in stimulating this list to think
about advertising on the web, and how it can be used
 to successfully create results, both from a buyers perspective
and a sellers perspective.

Hybrid Pricing Models - how do they work? The market has
reached rock bottom, and many publishers are tired of
selling their inventory for practically nothing, and in
some CPA instances, they really are selling for nothing.
Using a hybrid pricing model protects publishers and
forces advertisers to put "some" skin in the game. With
the hybrid model an advertiser must pay an upfront
deposit based on a guaranteed CPM price for a short test
run of say 500,000 to 1 million impressions. At the end
of this test you evaluate the conversions to determine if
it is worth continuing. If the conversions exceed the
low CPM guarantee, then publishers can feel comfortable
running the campaign on a CPA basis as the conversions
make more than the base CPM. If however the conversions
are below the base CPM, the publisher at least makes the
base rate, and can either end the campaign or re-negotiate
the terms. Does anyone on the list have real world examples
of using this model? Pro's and cons?

Cross Media Promotions - Using online advertising with
print, radio and television I know a lot of big agencies
and media buyers are looking for ways to tie in web
advertising with their offline advertising strategies.
We are starting to see companies that will marry billboard
advertising with a web ad to help build brand awareness
across mediums. We've seen Heinz run a television ad that
had a web component as well. More and more we are seeing
companies interested in cross promoting using the web as a
valuable add-on to their offline strategy. Are there any
companies that are using or developing cross promotional
strategies that can share some insights, frustrations, and
successes with us?

Pop-up and Pop-under campaigns - As a user I hate them,
but still find myself selling them. Before we so easily
dismissed the banner as an effective advertising medium,
we should have thought about what we as users like and
dislike. All the talk of low conversions and poor
performance drove advertisers to look for new ways to get
their message in your face. Now it is hard to visit
many sites that don't pop an ad in your face. As a user,
I was never really bothered by banners as they sat on the
page and I could choose to interact or not. Now with the
invasive pop-up/under ads we are being hit, cookied, and
tracked without expressly asking for it. I am not an
innocent victim as I have sold pop-ups to cover our bottom
line. That is where the money has been lately. That said,
I am all for discouraging invasive advertising as I feel
in the long run it is not promoting a positive experience
for users, and therefore could very possibly hurt the
image of the advertiser. Banners, skyscrapers, and content
integration seem to be a better long-term solution as they
foster a better user experience. Anyone else have comments
about the use of pop-ups and pop-unders? Pro's and cons?

What is fair? - how many clicks does it take to have a
successful campaign? Everyone on this list represents the
online advertising community in one way or another. It
would be nice to put our thoughts together to dial in
on what should be considered fair pricing, fair conversions,
and fair payouts. Success is being measured on the conversion
at the end of the day. One site could send 100,000 clicks
but only get .01% to convert, and other sites may only get
20,000 clicks but may have 1% to 4% of those clicks convert
in to sales. Is it fair for both sites to be paid on a .25
cent cost per click? My math says no. This is where
networks are missing the boat. They are selling across many
sites at a flat .25 per click rate, and paying more to sites
that deliver less. Anyone have any thoughts on how this
can be fixed? Is their a way to pay the sites more that
deliver the real results? How can this be tracked. Does
the advertiser need to be involved in sharing the
responsibility? Your thoughts?

These are just a few topics that could help us get back
on track. I hope others will do the same, and post thought
provoking questions to the list that will generate more
interest in this digest, and give us all more information
about the best way to use the web as an advertising medium.

Thanks for your time.

Kevin Frazier
CEO
AdAce, Inc.
http://www.adace.com



Received on Fri Oct 05 2001 - 11:48:27 CDT