Selling more behavioral targeted schedules, geo-targeted in the local DMA, reduces waste and improves results for local advertisers. That’s great value! It also leaves a chunk of out-of-market impressions, sold for pennies to the remnant networks.
A few of you emailed, last week, expressing dramatic interest in raising CPMs on non-local impressions. Best practices aren’t yet well-established for local media sites. (At least, I didn’t find them.) If you’re doing a good job of monetizing non-local ad inventory effectively, I hope you’ll share your comments.
In the meantime, here are a few suggestions for Monetizing Out-of-Market Impressions:
1. Plan ahead to monetize big local events that will attract both local and national traffic.
Let’s say you’re hosting a big event like the Super Bowl next year. Congratulations. The coverage will create lots of out-of-market traffic on top of strong local interest. Your goal is to sell all related impressions – locally.
Major event planners often announce funding sponsors well in advance. They are usually big local businesses interested in high profile local and national publicity. You can target them for premium, fixed ad positions served to both in and out-of-market eyeballs at a $20+ eCPM. The key is to offer geo-blended (in and out-of-market) impressions only to advertisers who value both sources of eyeballs, in the right, premium context, and can message properly to both.
Regional hotels, off airport parking, shuttle services, tourist spots & destination restaurants will value geo-targeted out-of-market impressions on the event coverage, served into a second CPM-based ad position. These packages will bring a lower CPM, maybe $10+, but higher than networks, because you’re selling targeting within a premium context. Category exclusivity will also increase value.
That leaves local impressions in that same second position, to be sold to local businesses who want to convert eyeballs to brick & mortar local store traffic. Local geo-targeting, in a premium context, earns a good CPM.
By matching local and non-local segments to advertisers’ target markets – and selling geo-blended schedules only to customers that can value the blend, we better monetize all of it.
2. Manage impressions for big breaking news stories.
It’s harder to plan for big breaking stories that spike up page views, unexpectedly, from in and out of market. Plus, the unpleasant reality of some breaking stories may not be the best material for sponsorships. Topical segmenting helps. Categories like breaking financial, sports or celebrity news may appeal to big local businesses that can use both local and national eyeballs. (Consider capped and/or guaranteed impressions, in your terms.) Ask sponsors to provide preapproved, periodically updated graphics for you to place in file, ready to serve. You’re creating your own ad network with purposeful planning that doesn’t damage value.
3. Some local businesses can’t exist on local patronage alone. Segment your traffic for them.
Sell out-of-market Travel BT, from your everyday ad impressions stream, to a local off-airport parking franchise or a regional hotel. Even if you estimate only 100,000 such impressions, that’s worth around $1800 at Behavioral Target rates. The same impressions bring $100 or less from the networks!
Out-of-market obituary traffic may interest a local florist. Local obits traffic may be of interest, too, but, by segregating impressions, the advertiser is able to make the choice and to craft the appropriate ad message for the eyeballs they reach.
High profile destination restaurants need business and leisure travelers. If you publish an online dining guide, serve a banner to a few thousand out of market impressions to add value to a restaurant listing. The feature makes the local listing more appealing to a restaurant aiming for its share of business expense accounts. In what other categories could you enhance value of local listings by adding a small out-of-market banner?
Some local businesses sell regional products outside the market. In DFW, they sell jalapeno jelly, cowboy duds and fine western furniture. In Seattle, they sell smoked salmon, tribal art and coffee. These local marketplaces may benefit more from out-of-market traffic than local, especially if it is BT targeted for shoppers. Are you targeting out of market eyeballs for your regional product retailers?
Out-of-market college sports fans create a market for local retailers of college sports paraphernalia, especially if they sell on the Web. They may want local traffic, too. By segmenting your inventory, you manage better value for the advertiser, and the advertiser can manage the ad message for better results. As popular as your sports coverage is, this might be an easy sale.
Seem like too much trouble? It is simpler just to sell it to the networks. But here’s the bottom line. You can make more money by selling just a few out-of-market packages than the ad networks will pay you for the entirety of your remnant inventory each month. Some goals are worth some pain to get there. In my opinion, this is one of those.
What are your thoughts and ideas? What ways have you found to better monetize your inventory and raise your average CPM?
Next week, I’m attending MediaXchange, in Vegas. If you’re going, look me up. I’ll talk with some of you about how you’re growing local traffic and post a list of ideas here – with live website examples – next Friday. Other than that – what goes in Vegas, stays in Vegas!