Pixel Ads: The Next Big Thing in Web Marketing?
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What will they think of next? I’ve been in marketing for many years, and just when I think I’ve seen it all, I get shocked all over again. Every new gimmick I see either causes me to laugh hysterically; shake my head in utter disbelief; or, in the words of C&C Music Factory, makes me go, “Hmmm.” This time, however; I’m saying, “Hmmm.” What am I talking about? I’m talking about Pixel Ads.
Pixel Ads, sometimes referred to as Micro Ads or Miniature Ads, are tiny advertisements that only occupy the space of a pixel on a web page. These ads range anywhere from a penny to a dollar per pixel and several sites are offering free Pixel Ads. Selling the ads on the front page of a site has been easy because they are unique, one of the companies selling pixel ads said. If an advertiser buys a 100-pixel ad, it appears as a small square in the grid of small squares on the site's front page.
"It looks like the demographics of the heavy Internet users are 18- to 29-year-olds," marketing veteran Bob Cefail said. "It's an extremely tough demographic for people to touch, so [the site] is an alternative. It is kind of quirky." The site also makes advertising fun, instead of a "big, serious thing." Cefail, who is chairman of In Touch Media Group, heard last month about a British Web site that boosted awareness of several little-known companies by selling micro ads by the pixel, and a few days later, his online and search marketing firm developed its own site that displays miniature ads: PixelBay.org.
It’s no secret that banner advertising has been steadily declining in popularity and effectiveness, and everyone has popup blockers installed to keep those annoying popup ads from showing. Pay-per-click advertisers are becoming increasingly frustrated with click fraud, the high rate of unqualified clicks, and the outrageous bid prices on keywords. Even buying text links has seen better days. We’ve all heard of silly marketing gimmicks that were outlandish enough that the notoriety itself gave overwhelming push to the idea; and while some of these ideas stick around, most do not.
Response from advertisers and visitors has been beyond Cefail’s expectations, as well. "It's a whirlwind," he said of the many advertiser calls In Touch has received. Cefail also is surprised that, when visitors click on the ads that link to the advertiser's Web site, "they are on these sites for hours. Already, the guys that bought the ads are reporting tremendous volume shifts."
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