NONE: RE: ONLINE-ADS>> Web site advertising models
RE: ONLINE-ADS>> Web site advertising models
Bruce Levitt (levitt_at_plcatlanta.com)
03 Apr 97 18:22:23 +0000
Geoff wrote:
>Compared to banner advertising, sponsored content is still in its infancy
>but does seem to represent one of the ways forward in Net advertising,
>particularly with the current bandwidths slowing down use. It is also
>very relevant as it associates brands with subject matters - try getting
>a Marketing Manager or advertising agency to tell you that that isn't
>what they're looking for !......If you agree, please let me know about some
>good examples of sites that are already employing these strategies.
Here's one example:
CLAUS.COM (http://www.claus.com) is a successful sponsorship site model.
It is an extensive site with high interactivity. As you would expect, it's
lifespan is from late November through December 31, though we still have it
up. The sponsorship is well into six figures. The sponsor last Christmas
was Service Merchandise.
We integrated them into the site experience by creating a special section
of the site for them to showcase some of their top toys. This section was
done in the same art style as the rest of the site and was designed not to
be overly commercial. We also gave them logo links to their own site on
many pages. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, CLAUS.COM generated over 3.2
Million page views. It also received top ratings and awards from Lycos,
Yahoo, AOL and many oathers.
It was not an overnight process! We created the first version of CLAUS.COM
in 1995 with our own funds. We even funded the site's own PR program. We
then took the results, plus our PLANS for a greatly expanded and redesigned
sited out to find a sponsor. Because the top rep firms we talked to felt
it would be difficult to sell because of its price, we had to tackle the
job ourselves. Though we are experienced marketers, we are not experienced
sponsorship sellers.
It was a demanding task to reach the right people in potential sponsor
companies or their ad agencies. We stayed with it and got Service
Merchandise on board. The site was extremely successful in attracting
visitors, generating press coverage and feeding people through to Service
Merchandise's site. Unfortunately, the Sr. V.P of Marketing, who
championed the sponsorship has left the company and at this point, it is
doubtful they will be the sponsor this year. We are confident that we will
find another sponsor because of the story we now have, but it means we have
to become salesmen again.
Despite the sometimes unsettling spec nature of creating sites for
sponsorship, we believe in the sponsorship approach because it ties the
sponsor to the site experience. The sponsor is involved versus being a
bolted on banner. We are currently developing more sites for sponsorship,
but we
are also creating custom web sites for companies, so that not everything is
spec!
Bruce Levitt
President, PLC Interactive
levitt_at_plcatlanta.com
http://www.claus.com
