An Outrageous Idea for all that Excess Inventory: Remind Consumers of the Value Exchange
April 7th, 2009 by Kathryn Koegel
Amidst all the discussion of micro-payments for content and the sturm and drang of “display is dead” arguments, I have a simple proposition for all that excess inventory that could have a positive impact on how consumers see online ads. Use available inventory for the ultimate display advertising PSA: an ad campaign that makes the connection between the content they are getting and the ad that supports it. This campaign could reinforce the media brands that consumers value in the copy: “Love your New York Times Online? It’s brought to you by name the brand. Keeping content free…ADVERTISING.”
This could be developed as a program by the IAB and run through Google/DoubleClick systems. An agency can create templates using one of the Google rich media tools, sites can pick them up and customize them to their media brand and run them in remnant inventory that they are getting pennies on from ad networks. It would also serve as a benefit to the advertiser. Perhaps each site chooses an advertiser of the day that they want to celebrate. What advertiser would not want to be associated with a big media brand?
The IAB could run an adjunct site that the ads click through to that make the case for advertising online and the connection to all that great free content. The site can also serve as an info resource demystifying cookies and other online ad factors that seem to get consumers all hot and bothered.
Interestingly Gawker has just said no to ad networks and runs banners created by artists in its remnant space – this is just a twist on that and one that has a greater benefit to the industry.
There is another target that would benefit from this kind of campaign: Washington and the FTC committee that continues to discuss behavioral targeting. I wish they would just focus on the direct marketing industry and credit card companies with how they use data, but they’re a little too focused on the data soup used for ad targeting. We cannot limit this medium’s revenue potential, especially if there is no actual PII.
Make sense?
Tags: Behavioral Targeting, IAB, micropayments, Online advertising, PSAs