Re: Clicks or Conversion? - A Ad Buyer's Perspective Here...

From: Wayne Dempsey <wayne_at_pelicanparts.com>
Date: Mon 05 Nov 2001 10:06:51 -0500

Okay, I've seen a lot of flak about the type of advertising
business model and pricing out of campaigns. The bottom
line is indeed "the bottom line." As an advertiser, I
want the best bang for my buck, and I will mix and match
campaigns and media to achieve it. The old saying certainly
applies here "You get what you pay for." If these online
advertisers are giving away their ads, then indeed, it's
because the value of these ads are very low.

On-line advertising does not work as well as everyone in
the past had hoped and expected. The law of supply and
demand dictates that as the supply goes up, and demand
goes down, so will the prices of the ads. That is what
we are seeing here in today's environment. Whether you
have sold advertising for 35 years or not, some of the
old rules do not apply. There is a new advertising
medium here that is driving down both production costs
and ad costs as well. If the publishers are not strong
enough to adapt and survive in this new model, then they
will go out of business. It's called capitalism.

I predict that online advertising rates will rise in the
future because the fly-by-night VC content companies will
be folding. From an ad buyer's perspective, I have always
thought the content providers have been extremely expensive
in comparison to print advertising. When I buy a print ad,
I know it's going out to 50,000 subscribers or so. I can
approximate my cost per subscriber and compare it to any
online advertising. However, one person viewing my
full-page ad is not the same as a small tiny banner at the
top of someone's screen. Two different mediums, two
different experiences.

Anyways, my point is that the market will dictate the
conditions that we operate. That's what has made this
country great - free and clear capitalism (well, for the
most part). Those who cannot adapt will not survive (as
we have already seen with many, many dot-coms).

-Wayne Dempsey



Received on Mon Nov 05 2001 - 09:06:51 CST