![\"alex.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/alex.jpg\")
<\/span>Alex Sturtevant is a Producer at NYC-based agency thehappycorp global<\/a>.
\nHe is the lead for many digital projects for clients such as
\nCadbury-Schweppes, Miraval Resorts, Idealist.org, and Brooklyn Brewery.
\nAlex also managed the creative for the 87th Annual Art Directors Club
\nAwards Gala, and has previously worked for clients including Universal
\nMusic, Dell, Coca-Cola, J.P. Morgan, Paramount Vantage and Vivendi
\nGames.<\/i> <\/p>\n
<\/font><\/p>\n On average, what would a basic banner ad campaign cost to design and implement?<\/b><\/font><\/p>\n As For a venue marketing one performance, how far out (time-wise) would you start a banner ad campaign? One month? One week?<\/b> <\/p>\n I’m For LVHRD<\/a>, a series of live events for the creative community in NYC, we typically begin running ads 3-5 weeks prior to an event. In Again, this is really a question that needs to How important is placement? Obviously, arts There are two types of placement – what section of a What are the markers of The most reliable metric for For rich media Are clients advertising on blogs versus mainstream newspaper sites now? What are the benefits\/drawbacks of advertising on blogs?<\/b> <\/p>\n Blogs This You told me once that those irritating On
\nfrustrating as it is, I am not going to answer this question. There are
\nmyriad factors that influence the price of a campaign, ranging from the
\ncomplexity of animation to the size of the media buy. I don’t think
\nit’s very useful to try and pinpoint an average price point, but I
\nwould stress that I have been amazed by ads done on the cheap and
\nnobody should think that they are necessarily priced out of the game.<\/p>\n
\nnot a media planner, but this depends on what you are trying to
\naccomplish with the campaign. If the goal is to have users purchase
\ntickets online by clicking on the ad, then it is a good idea to have
\ntwo-three weeks running up to the show. If an advertiser is trying to
\ngenerate buzz around a performance or drive offline ticket sales, then
\nyou may want to begin a little earlier. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nyour opinion, would it be more effective for a venue to produce a
\nbanner ad campaign announcing its entire season or to target specific
\nperformances?<\/b><\/p>\n
\nbe preceded with a decision about positioning. Are you trying to sell
\ntickets? Or raise the profile of the venue? Target a specific audience?
\nBanner ads should be treated just like any other piece of marketing
\ncollateral.<\/p>\n
\npresenters\/record labels would want their ads in the arts sections (or
\nis that not so obvious?), but does right\/left\/top\/bottom of the webpage
\nmatter?<\/b><\/p>\n
\nsite the ad lives on, and where on the page the ad sits. In terms of
\nthe first issue, the homepage is usually a better bet than any interior
\npage (even the arts section) because the dropoff rate grows and grows
\nas you move deeper into a site. End of the day, you want the most eyes
\non your ad as possible. For placement on the page, it is always a good
\nidea to have the ad above the fold (i.e. a user can see the ad without
\nscrolling). There are technical details about how often your ad will
\nappear on a page (“share of voice”), but again, that’s really a
\nquestion for a media planner.<\/p>\n
\neffectiveness for banner ads? Click-throughs, time spent viewing the
\npage advertised? What kind of report can organizations expect from the
\nsites they advertise on?<\/b><\/p>\n
\nsuccess is clickthrus. All sites will provide their advertisers of a
\nbreakdown of total impressions (number of unique visitors who have seen
\nthe ad), clickthru rate (number of users that click on the ad), and
\nclickthru percentage of total users. Successful, national banner ad
\ncampaigns usually average 0.2% clickthru rates.<\/p>\n
\nads (that expand, include video content, etc), there are additional
\nmetrics such as time on ad, interactions with the ad, and so forth.
\nThese become important as these ads don’t necessarily need to drive
\nusers to an external site to be successful.<\/p>\n
\nare a great tool for advertisers. Many of the most influential and
\npopular sites on the internet are blogs, since the content is refreshed
\non a consistent basis throughout the day. That’s not to say that nytimes.com<\/a> isn’t a great place to advertise, but blogs are a fantastic and more cost-effective resource. <\/p>\n
\nis especially true in industries like the arts, as oftentimes you are
\nmarketing to a niche audience. thehappycorp has recently started a blog
\npublishing network called Largetail<\/a>, that includes a number of likeminded culture\/arts\/media blogs such as LVHRD, Coolhunting<\/a>, The Winger<\/a>, and PSFK<\/a>.
\nWorking with the Largetail network allows advertisers to reach the
\nelusive but coveted demographic of creative professionals, media makers
\nand urban influencers. We are able to offer a range of custom programs
\nto help acquaint our readers with a brand in a unique, relevant and
\nmeaningful manner.<\/p>\n
\nads that float over your screen are the ones everyone asks for. Why are
\nthey effective? Doesn’t everyone think they’re annoying? The only time
\nI ever click on them is when I can’t find the X and hit Shrek’s ear or
\nwhatever by mistake.
<\/b>
Rich media ads. A blessing and a
\ncurse. I admit that I have had just about enough of the dancing cowboys
\nencouraging me to refinance, but these ads can be a great way to engage
\nusers in new and creative ways as well. Video content is always
\ncompelling. At thehappycorp we have also done projects recently that
\nused an XML feed to send new and updated content to the banner ads
\nthroughout the life of the campaign. This would be useful if you wanted
\nto advertise a full season at a venue, but display rotating information
\ndepending upon what performances were happening on a specific date. <\/p>\n
\nthe other end of the spectrum, I feel like I’m so used to movement in
\nthese ads that when I see a static one I’m totally disinterested.
\nShould organizations not even bother if they can’t afford
\nanimation\/video in their ads?<\/b> <\/p>\n