If there’s anything we, as an industry, should know by now it is this: You’ll never get enough views of your website to make big money if you sell strictly by the CPM. That’s not just true for locals. Even national publications realize this. The Atlantic reports its sales in 2009 – not exactly a prime year for the economy – more than doubled when it started a branding approach to web sales. In an interview with paidContent, The Atlantic’s VP/publisher Jay Lauf said digital revenues jumped 275 percent in Q4 of 2009 over Q4 2008. How?
“‘The Atlantic signed more than 50 new digital advertisers in 2009, with a number of the programs rooted in customized, integrated campaigns and other beyond-the-banner programs,’ Lauf said. The Porsche-sponsored “Ask Andrew” series featuring blogger Andrew Sullivan, that had the carmaker’s brand garlanding display ads containing reader questions. Another marketer, Shell Oil, sent a roving reporter serving in-ad videos the included interviews with energy experts from The Atlantic’s Green Intelligence Forum.”
Are you developing more sophisticated, beyond-the-CPM sales strategies? Are you going deeper than simply selling “convergence packages” that tie TV and web sales together? Successful local web strategies include working with the client to develop new and innovative web-only solutions that take advantage of the platform’s unique qualities.
