Dive summary:
- The majority of site traffic is coming in now from article pages, not the homepage, leaving publishers to find new avenues for ad revenue like the welcome ad.
- The welcome ad, and advertisement that shows before a visitor can access the site, is popular among business-focused and niche sites; AllThingsD, Forbes, Ad Age and Business Insider all utilize the strategy and more mainstream sites like the Economist, IGN, AskMen and even The New York Times are hopping on board.
- Although the welcome ads draw striking similarities to the detested pop-up ad, publishers and brands still see some value in having a canvas 100% devoted to their message.
From the article:
"Publishers appear to know they’re playing with fire with these units. Unlike many standard display buys, most welcome ads are still done through sales teams — and sold at high rates compared to run-of-the-mill inventory that’s often shunted off to ad exchanges. Buyers complain that they want a hard-to-justify premium for these units. Yes, it’s a good opportunity to capture users’ attention, but with a price tag sometimes north of $150 CPM it’s often difficult to justify."
