NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Web tracking solutions
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Web tracking solutions
Sean Pfister (seanp_at_cnet.com)
Thu, 17 Oct 1996 10:22:08 -0800
At 10:48 PM -0500 10/16/96, online-ads_at_mailserv.tenagra.com wrote:
>Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 23:07:31 -0700
>To: online-ads_at_mailserv.tenagra.com
>From: Kim Brooks <kbrooks_at_cortland.com>
>Subject: ONLINE-ADS>> Re: Web tracking solutions
Kim Brooks writes:
>I'm not so sure that IPRO is getting all the biz. While it's true that they
>have name value, I have talked to many major site owners who are 1)
>astounded at the IPRO price tag;
It's pricey considering the amount of revenue Web publishers are making.
It's probably not excessive compared with companies like Nielson, Arbitron
etc. On the other hand, those companies are in mega-billion dollar markets.
In defense of IPRO: what they're doing is extremely costly, I should think.
The more customers you have, the more production costs would increase,
unlike some industries. That's because you would need more storage, more
MIPS, more backup, and so on. And a lot of the work will be custom: server
configuration will vary from publisher to publisher.
OTOH: At a conference in July, I heard a colleague say something to the
effect of: "Contracting with the traffic counters (ie IPRO, ABC, NetCount)
is a bit like having a watch and paying someone to tell you what time it
is."
2) nervous about being resold, even in
>aggregate (as you mention). As one newspaper site told me, "If they will
>sell my numbers in aggregate for $x, how hungry would they have to be to
>sell my numbers to a competitor in not-so-aggregate?"
Very risky proposition for any of these companies, if they have agreed not
to do so. That's the kind of information that would get out because the
competing publisher would have to use it--that means telling her sales
reps, a couple ad agencies, a couple advertisers. In an industry that
thrives on gossip, this would circulate at light speed.
sean pfister
director, research and analysis
CNET: The Computer Network
seanp_at_cnet.com
415-395-7805 x 1529
Fax: 415.395.9205
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