|
|
|
by big web players
Never mind that they annoy and don't work
By Marty Beard
As ad formats go, the pop-under as pioneered by the people behind the X10 camera is a dud. Data is out to show that its appears to turn off users in a big way while not selling all that many cameras.
Nonetheless, the pop-under is becoming the new web ad craze, with no less a player than Yahoo now saying it has begun testing the format.
Indeed, more advertisers are using pop-unders and more web publishers are deploying them. X10 has been joined by NextCard, Consumer Info, Half.com, Real.com and Colonize.com, among others.
Then Yahoo last week joined Weather.com, NYTimes.com, MSNBC.com and other top-shelf sites in offering the ad format.
Yahoo wouldn’t tell Media Life why it decided to run the ads, why it’s considering this a test run, or how long the test will last.
"Yahoo is making an effort to be more advertiser-friendly," says Roni Jenkins, director of communication strategies at JWT Digital in New York, and proven or not, pop-unders are what advertisers want.
With an average CPM of $5, pop-under ads are a cost-effective way to extend an advertiser’s reach. Also, pop-under campaigns are often sold by cost per clock or cost per acquisition, meaning that web sites get commissions when site visitors act on pop-unders.
There’s no denying the ads’ reach. Because the pop-under ad opens a new browser window, Jupiter Media Metrix has included X10.com in its list of most-visited sites. In June, X10.com became the fourth most visited web site, ahead of longtime leaders such as AltaVista.
But Jupiter Media Metrix senior analyst Marissa Gluck says that the huge reach doesn’t represent the true story, since consumer behavior doesn’t reflect that enormous reach.
"As advertisers become increasingly obtrusive online, consumers react just as they do with their TV remote control – they eliminate advertising they don’t find relevant or entertaining. That’s what’s happening with X10.com," says Gluck.
In other words, X10’s pop-under campaign has been good at building brand awareness because it has reached more than 32.8 percent of the internet audience. But the ads are bad at building what Jupiter Media Metrix calls brand affinity.
The millions of people being diverted involuntarily onto X10.com aren’t staying on site for long. According to a recent report from Jupiter Media Metrix, 73 percent of web surfers who encounter the ads close them within 20 seconds, a reaction that Jupiter Media Metrix describes as "violent."
The X10 ads are part of a direct marketing campaign, with the apparent goal of enticing consumers to buy cameras. But signs suggest that people aren’t buying them.
Again, X10.com isn’t talking about its results. But Jupiter Media Metrix’s Gluck says their data suggests that X10’s pop-unders are showing a statistically insignificant conversion rate: Virtually nobody is buying the tiny wireless cameras.
Jupiter Media Metrix’s data shows that, minus traffic from pop-unders, X10.com would have received just 2.7 million unique visitors in May instead of 29 million visitors.
When the pop-under first came along, the consensus among media people was that pop-ups were effective precisely because they were so annoying. But these days, they fear that pop-unders could have a negative impact on how people perceive internet advertising.
"I agree with Jupiter that the X10 does indeed build brand awareness," says Danny Oh, an online media manager with Agency.com’s i-traffic. "I also agree it can often be at the expense of brand affinity. That being said, a lot of direct marketers, like X10, don't care about brand affinity. Their offer or hook is their brand.
"In the case of X10, as long as their ROI outweighs their marketing costs, it is a good strategic move for them," Oh says.
One problem, says JWT’s Jenkins, is that advertisers and web sites, especially X10, aren’t putting any frequency caps on pop-unders. Jupiter Media Metrix says that the lack of frequency caps means consumers are bombarded outright with pop-ups, effectively turning them off.
"It’s really harmful to the industry," says Jenkins. "People are getting very aggravated. It’s so intrusive, and I think people will really start getting turned off, get a bad taste in their mouths and start using ad-blocking software."
X10 may have spoiled pop-unders for everyone else, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t be effective, if deployed responsibly.
"I personally hate them given the way that pop-unders have been used by X10," says Jim Meskauskas, chief internet strategist in the San Francisco office of Mediasmith.
"However, NextCard's pop-under, on the other hand, seems somehow less obnoxious. They aren't forcing their web site at me, nor are they ‘roadblocking’ every site I visit. So, used properly, they can be effective."
|
Five Month Trend in X10.com Web Reach |
|
|
Month |
Percentage of web audience reached |
|
January |
0.3 |
|
February |
2.4 |
|
March |
9.8 |
|
April |
17.5 |
|
May |
32.8 |
| Source:
Jupiter Media Metrix
|
|
July 31, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Marty Beard is a staff writer for Media Life.
Printer-Friendly Version
|
Send
to a Friend
Cover Page |
Contact
Us
