NONE: RE: ONLINE-ADS>> sponsorships versus banners - update
RE: ONLINE-ADS>> sponsorships versus banners - update
Jim Meskauskas (Jim_at_HAWKMEDIA.com)
Thu, 11 Dec 1997 16:40:03 -0800
Maureen Saringer wrote:
> Bruce, could you elaborate on this? Why do you think it's
> easier to sell banners than sponsorships? Is it just
> the larger dollar amount involved, or because it's a newer
> model and not well understood yet? I'm curious for any
> comments you or other list members have regarding this.
The idea of sponsorships is nothing new to online, however. In
fact, it was the first means by which advertisers could get real estate
online. The first online buy I was a part of was a sponsorship of Merc
Center's Weather Site, about 2 years ago or so.
As an online media planner, I have often times steered clients
away from sponsorship buys for a number of reasons, not the least of
which is high out-of-pocket. Since many clients online have direct
response objectives and small budgets, banners have proven to be, by
far, the more efficient means of generating response and inquiry.
Sponsorships of online content are much like event sponsorships: signage
to build awareness and affiliation to elicit associative "feeling" for
the product or advertiser. Banners are quantifiable units to which an
advertiser can apply readable metrics and make real conclusions with
real numbers about the effectiveness of their campaign. Sponsorships
are difficult to read the same way print is difficult to read (barring
an obvious call to action). The other caveat with most sponsorships is
that they are for content areas or online properties that are as of yet
unproven. A lot of times an advertiser is asked to pony up what for
online is a significant sum of dollars in order to promote a new site
that has not gotten distribution alliances or has yet figured out what
to do to drive traffic.
If an advertiser strictly has a branding/awareness objective,
and it has been decided that the audience being sought or the
environment a product wants to be associated with is best found with a
particular online property, sponsorships can be a great way to fulfill
this marketing objective for a lower cost than traditional print.
Another bonus to sponsorships is that they often lend the advertiser
exclusivity and right of first refusal for future opportunities.
In spite of my sounding "Sponsorship hostile," I will do it if
it makes sense for a client. I just bought a charter advertiser package
with an online property planning to launch the first week of January for
a client. Online planners and buyers need to realize that though this
is a spanking-new medium, much of the same thing applies as traditional
media planning when making choices on advertising opportunities for
clients. Does the medium make sense? Does the vehicle make sense? Can
marketing and advertising objectives be met efficiently? These
questions don't change just because the medium is new. The shroud of
authentic democracy the digerati would have you believe the Net is
wrapped in does not in any way change the final goals of business or the
very basic means by which those goals are achieved.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jim Meskauskas
Media Planner
Hawk Media
731 Sansome St., 5th Fl
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-777-4645
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