Is Banner Advertising Dead ?
While it may be premature to write the obituary yet, banner advertising onthe Web is clearly in trouble. The reality is the vast majority of Web addollars are ending up in the pockets of a small group of big players, primarily search engines and directories. Like it or not, it’s a buyer’smarket out there, and the chances of a small to mid-sized Web publisher floating his boat by selling banner ads are about as good as the neighborhood basketball star’s odds of getting drafted by the NBA. Web publishers that don’t draw the 230,000 visitors a day that ESPNET SportsZone does need to step back from the current click-versus-impression debate and recognize that they may not be able to sell much banner advertising at all. Instead of trying to stand their ground and “just say no” to free trials, soft-dollar link exchanges, and clicks-only payment schemes, publishers need to pursue alternative advertising models capable of bringing in revenue today.
