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November 1, 2001 Newsletter
CNET Launches New Ad Program—Now How About Letting Advertisers In On It
A week ago Reuters published a story (carried by CNET on their news.com web site), that CNET Networks was launching a new marketing program called “Launch Pad,” which was designed to help advertisers get premium placement online.
The story said CNET, which was suffering a steep, third-quarter loss and a decline in revenue, was hoping the new format would increase sales.
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Don’t announce a new ad program unless you actually plan to update your marketing materials so advertisers will be able to find information about it.
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According to the story, Launch Pad was a way for advertisers to buy comprehensive exposure across all of the CNET Networks media properties, including newsletters, CNET Radio, and the company’s other media outlets. It also included a new ad format called the Launch Unit, that starts with a full-screen ad that would appear for three seconds before rolling into a smaller window. Sounds really juicy, right?
Here at GCN, we were salivating at the idea of being able to turn our readers on to a new advertising innovation that would help them increase sales, boost revenues, and hire us to implement these new, winning solutions.
Only today, more than a week later, we still couldn’t find any information about Launch Pad on the CNET media kit web site, on the “How To Advertise” section of the company’s site, or even by typing “Launch Pad” into the site’s search engine. Was it all a dream?
No. After considerable digging, we found a press release announcing the new format and the new ad program, and it does look interesting. The program provides a mix of premium placement, integrated media platforms, and the new ad formats to give premium advertisers a dominant position the CNET suite of product offerings.
For more information on the new CNET ad program, visit: http://www.cnet.com/aboutcnet/0-13613-7-7656146.html.
You can view demos of the new ad units at the following URLS:
1) http://www.cnet.com/Ads/Media/XP_demo/tlu/
2) http://www.cnet.com/Ads/Media/XP_demo/ilu/
The new formats seem to work better on Internet Explorer than on Netscape. In fact, on Netscape 4.75, a fairly recent version, the ads don’t work at all. Another site using innovative ad formats is http://www.weather.com, which sells DHTML-based banner campaigns that allow the ad and advertiser content to run across the remainder of the web window.
This is an excellent example of a publisher using its extensive media offerings to provide premium advertisers with something they can’t get from a competing site.
But there’s also a lesson to be learned in all of this. Don’t announce a new ad program unless you actually plan to update your marketing materials so advertisers will be able to find information about it. People don’t like to dig for things, and putting out a press release when you haven’t updated your online media kit so pricing and placement details can be easily found just makes it difficult and frustrating for would-be advertisers. And in this tight ad economy, no one wants to frustrate customers. 
Wireless Marketing, The Next Big Question
While wireless advertising may be the hot new trend everyone is talking about, a significant number of wireless users surveyed recently in the United States and abroad said they would not want to receive ads on their wireless devices.
This data should be a warning to publishers looking to launch advertising-supported products in the wireless space.
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The moral for publishers: do your homework before latching onto this latest fad.
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Wireless publishing or information services are extremely difficult to pull-off to begin with. The technology is not standardized, the display screens are small, bandwidth is low and the functionality of the devices takes some creativity to figure out an appropriate vehicle for a publisher’s product. Like all media, sound measurement methodologies must be established and implemented before significant budgetary commitments are conceivable.
And now comes word from the London-based Arc group and the Wireless Advertising Association that more people oppose receiving ads on their wireless devices than are willing to receive them.
According to the study, reported last month at www.imarketingnews.com, 30 percent of the Europeans surveyed and 24 percent of the U.S. consumers surveyed said they were either “extremely willing” or “very willing” to receive ads on their wireless devices. This compares with 39 percent of the Europeans and 35 percent of the U.S. consumers who said they were either “not very willing,” or “not willing at all” to receive wireless ads.
The moral for publishers: do your homework before latching onto this latest fad. Find out if your readers want this kind of intrusion into their pants pockets, and then see if you can find an advertiser willing to pay to be there. On the ads, of course.
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In This Issue
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Wireless Marketing, The Next Big Question
Final Analysis:
GCN’s creative, technical and business team analyzes F&W Publications' id-mag.com. See how this paid publication’s Web site fairs under our constructive critique.
Sales Tip:
Digital Media Kits -- Make sure your print and online media kits are represented in both straight HTML and as downloadable PDF files. Remember to link to your recent BPA audit statement making it one click away for media buyers and potential advertisers to get information they need. Ultimately, you want to make it easier for people to business with you.
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Chicago, IL
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November 15
Fast Track Media Mgmt. Program
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