Earlier this month, the Online Publishers Association announced that a broad set of its members would be adopting new larger ad units. The initial list of participants is fairly impressive, including more than 2 dozen top tier publishers such as CNN, The NY Times, WSJ Network and ESPN. The full list of publishers reaches over 66% of the total Internet audience, or roughly 108 million visitors. These heavy hitters are adding some truly massive units to their arsenal of ad units.
The “Fixed Panel” – a 336×860 pixel banner. It’s wider than standard skyscraper and follows users as they scroll down the page.
The “XXL” – a 468×648 pixel box with expandable video capability.
The “Pushdown” – a 970×418 pixel unit that takes up over half of a page before rolling up.
There’s little doubt that these ads performed in tests leading to rollout. On a limited basis I’m sure they resulted in a lift in CTR, engagement, and possibly even conversions or transactions. It’s hard to disagree with the OPA’s intent to foster innovation and efficacy in the online space, but this particular move is a dangerous one that could easily backfire in the long term.
During News Corp’s quarterly earnings call earlier this month, global media mogul Rupert Murdoch explained his long-term position on Internet advertising. He states that the almost infinite increase in ad inventory is putting a constant downward pressure in prices, making it difficult to monetize audiences, especially with ad spending on the decline.
A large chunk of my responsibilities at Yahoo! deal with this exact problem. In an environment where online advertising is becoming a commodity, how do you maximize the selling of premium inventory while using networks and exchanges to monetize the gaps? All while achieving the highest possible rates the market will bear. In an ideal world, exchanges and adservers would maximize network traffic to monetize each impression to its fullest. The truth is that the imbalance between supply and demand, as well as the relative immaturity of exchanges is causing a huge gap, and impressions are selling for bargain bin prices.
Recently I’ve been noticing remnant inventory being displayed on the Yahoo.com homepage. Maybe this doesn’t surprise some people, but Media Planners know that the Yahoo! Homepage was once the most heralded display placement on the web. It upwards of $1 Million to roadblock (own all of the inventory) for the day, and only major brands could play there. So when I noticed ads like “check your credit score” showing up on the homepage, I was noticeably caught off guard.
Ironically a similar thought was crossing Chris Brogan’s mind when he saw a similar ad on the homepage of NYTimes.com. A conversation broke out on his blog about the merits and demerits of major brands such as Yahoo! and NYTimes filling premiere brand spots with remnant inventory that must give them only a fraction of effective CPM. (more…)
I am a Senior Strategist at SS+K. I handle digital & social media strategy for a number of clients. I also keep a personal blog here. View Kevin Skobac's profile
During News Corp’s quarterly earnings call earlier this month, global media mogul Rupert Murdoch explained his 
View Kevin Skobac's profile