Sniper arrests boost Microsoft's online ad campaign
Microsoft's online ad campaign for its new MSN 8 has gotten an unexpected boost from the arrests in the Washington DC-area sniper drama. Microsoft claims that he Flash-based ads that take over the web page briefly will reach 90% of Web users.
According to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) some of the sites where Microsoft is advertising since Thursday include the Washington Post Co.'s WashingtonPost.com and the New York Times Co.'s NYTimes.com, both of which saw large increases in visitors.
The number of visitors to WashingtonPost.com was up roughly 30% over normal for the past week, according to Don Marshall, a spokesman for the company. On Thursday, the day that the sniper suspects were arrested and the MSN campaign launched, the site had 10.6 million page views. Usually, WashingtonPost.com gets about six million to seven million page views per day, he said.
NYTimes.com also had an influx of readers interested in news about the sniper, said Jason Krebs, vice president for advertising. On Wednesday, the site had about 17 million page views, the second most-trafficked day in its history, after Sept. 11, 2001.
The New York Times deal with MSN guaranteed a certain number of visitors for a flat fee, with no additional charge for extra visitors, Mr. Krebs said. Advertisers win when traffic results are over that minimum -- although sites can use those results to their advantage, too. "It increases the overall value of what you're delivering, so that when the next sales cycle comes along, you have the numbers to show them," Mr. Krebs said.