Having "failed to attract national advertisers in the
numbers they'd expected, many Web sites now are filling
their pages with house ads," according to Kathryn Kranhold
of the WALL STREET JOURNAL, who cites a study by tracking
group Leading Web Advertisers which found an estimated 73%
of the ads on ESPN.com "tout ESPN or other Disney-related
products and Internet offerings." But Go.com Exec VP/Sales
& Development Mort Marcus said that ESPN.com "runs so many
house ads on purpose." Marcus: "Whenever we run a banner
(from an outside advertiser), next to it we run a home ad."
Kranhold notes that the use of house ads comes as the "click
through" rates on all Web sites "are decreasing." Margeotes
Fertitta & Partners Dir of Interactive Services Ann Carey
said that six months ago, "about 1% of consumers who viewed
an ad clicked on it, compared to less than a half of a
percent these days." Go.com Senior VP Scott Schiller notes
that the "barrage of house ads on ESPN.com looks odd," but
said that ESPN.com "has booked four times the amount of ad
revenue" for the FY that started October 1 compared with the
previous FY. Schiller: "We are working to reconfigure our ad
spaces to have more meaningful ads" (WALL ST JOURNAL, 6/27).
