May 8, 2006 | In Uncategorized |
Video gaming portal, IGN, announced last week that it is doing away with banner ads on its website, in favor of more advanced and tech-savvy advertising formats.
The leading gaming website, which was acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. late last year for a hefty $650 million, will keep working with its largely ad-supported revenue model, but hopes to work more with high-tech custom ads, including huge site-wide sponsorship deals.
“These consumers are more and more savvy, we can’t offer a cookie-cutter solution to reaching users, it’s not effective,” said IGN’s head of marketing David Tokheim, in a recent interview. “That’s why we work loosely with advertisers to create unique ads and custom-made components.”
This is just one more nail in the coffin of the already ailing banner ad business. As other forms of online advertising have experienced runaway success, the classic GIF banner has seen lower and lower click through rates, and now fails to catch the attention of the vast majority of internet users.
