NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Peter Bull's fanciful "ad piracy" hypothetical
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Peter Bull's fanciful "ad piracy" hypothetical
Cliff Kurtzman (cliff_at_tenagra.com)
Thu, 4 Dec 1997 17:34:25 -0600
Jay Gaines <jayg_at_interzine.com> writes:
>One issue that I think is being overlooked in this debate is the
>fact that many (hopefully most) advertisers care about not only
>the type, but also the *quality* of the content their ads are
>associated with. The fact is that 95% of the sites out there
>are not even close to professional quality. If I'm an advertiser
>I wouldn't want my ad popping up (even if it is in a separate
>frame) as the user accesses a poorly designed site with
>irrelevant or irritating content.
Why the heck not? Your ad banner will likely be the best designed and most
interesting thing on the page and will probably get a great click-through
from people who will be extremely greatful when they arrive at your well
designed web site. Our experience is that all else being equal, the better
the design and content of a site hosting an ad, the lower the click-through
because people will be more apt to want to stay on the site hosting the ad
rather than click.
>I don't think most
>advertisers would want to run the risk of having their product or
>service associated with a negative experience.
It is one thing to put not want you banner associated with being on a porn
site, but it is quite another to be this sensitive to your customer being
offended simply by the general design considerations of the hosting site.
This is quite a stretch in my opinion.
<snip>
>We have worked very hard to create attractive, well
>designed, fast loading, best in class sports sites, and I know
>that is why we have experienced such tremendous success selling
>advertising to everybody from dozens of major blue chip
>advertisers to local businesses.
When we _significantly_ improved the design of tennisserver.com we found
that our click-throughs dropped, even though the content stayed basically
unchanged and the ad banners became more prominent. Would I go back to the
old horrid design? Never! As publisher, I have to balance the benefits to
my site visitors with the benefits to my advertisers, and improving the
design was the right decision. And the site is still (I say with no
modesty) the best value around to anyone looking for a tennis specific ad
placement, it is just not quite as great a value as it was before...
--Cliff Kurtzman
The Tenagra Corporation
http://www.tenagra.com/
281/480-6300
Internet marketing, public relations, consulting and web design
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