Online ads need to get bigger

Reshma Kapadia

NEW YORK: Web surfers will soon find many sites with online advertisements

that are bigger and - sponsors hope - harder to ignore after a trade group set

voluntary standards on Monday for larger Web ads as Internet media companies try

to combat slower online ad spending.

The standards reflect the growing belief that online advertising needs to be

reinvented as Internet companies examine marketing expenses against the backdrop

of Wall Street's call for profits. The online advertising industry is also

trying to convince more traditional advertisers to venture online.

"The goal of the Ad Unit Task Force is to help publishers, advertisers

and their agencies make the Internet a more effective marketing medium,"

said vice chairman of the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Phase2Media

chairman and chief executive, Richy Glassberg.

"We believe that their wide adoption will create a more effective

medium, for cohesive branding and direct marketing campaigns."

Amid growing dissatisfaction with traditional banner ads, the bureau set out

guidelines for seven new ad units. There are two vertical units and five

rectangular horizontal units - all larger than the banner ads that have become

familiar to Web users.

Members of the bureau, including AOL Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.N AOL, Yahoo

Inc., DoubleClick Inc. and ExciteAtHome Corp. ATHM.O, hope the bigger ads will

re-energize the online advertising industry.

Web sites have been looking for ways to become more attractive to

advertisers, who have been disappointed with response rates to Internet banner

ads.

The bulked-up Web ads will take up much more space on a Web page than current

banner ads, which typically run across a narrow section at the top of a page -

234-by-60 pixels for a half banner or 468-by-40 pixels for a full banner.

The larger units include a square pop up that is 250-by-250 pixels and a

so-called "skyscraper unit" that measures 120-by-600 pixels. Larger

ads will also allow marketers to make their online message more creative and

more interactive.

Several Internet media companies have already embraced larger ads, including

technology news provider CNET Networks Inc. CNET.O The New York Times Co. said

earlier this month that such ads would also be appearing on its Web sites. Walt

Disney Internet Group has also been using larger ads.

The guidelines for some of the new units may require publishers to redesign

parts of their Web sites, Glassberg added. While it's good that publishers are

experimenting with new types of advertising, Jupiter Media Metrix analyst

Marissa Gluck said the new units might be missing the point.

"The strength of the Internet is not creative. It's never going to be

able to compete with TV or magazines. The strength is (its ability) to target

segment audiences and show or demonstrate a return on investment," Gluck

said. "Bigger doesn't mean better."

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