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nealrm
02-05-2009, 06:24 PM
I'm looking for a good way to sell advertising on my site. I'm referring to selling ads to big name stores like Lowes or other companies that sell home related products. Any idea of how to break into that market?

vangogh
02-05-2009, 06:50 PM
To sell ads to big names stores you'll probably need a lot of traffic. I'm guessing, but I suspect those stores won't deal with just anyone.

To get started though you'll probably want to first gather some research about what kind of ad space you'll offer and how much you'll charge. Also will you charge per month, per 1000 impressions, etc. Especially for a big company you'll want to have rates, etc set.

You can create a page on your site for advertisers. Offer your basic stats on the page and maybe some of the options about where the ads will appear. You can mention your rates on the page or ask people to contact you for rates.

You may want to give away some free advertising for a month or two to give the impression you're already selling ads. Then as you do sell some you can drop the freebies.

I'm guessing that large companies will need to be approached. You'll want to make sure they do advertise on sites like yours and then find out who to contact within the company and approach them on the idea of advertising with you. I have a hunch it won't be easy to sell to the big name stores at first. You might have better success starting smaller and then work your way up in company size.

nealrm
02-05-2009, 07:04 PM
I think we have the traffic. We run just under 2.1 million page views a month during the prime real estate season with a strict real estate focus. Our current CPM rate is $5 - 10, depending on position. (That is mid-lower average for online rates) We do already have paying ads for a bank and a local subdivision, so that helps.

I'm just not sure how to approach the big companies. I don't think a letter sent to the "Manager of marketing" would work.

Business Attorney
02-05-2009, 07:15 PM
In my experience, most large companies do not place most of their ads directly but use advertising placement services. Together with their ad agency, they come up with general strategies and then outsource the actual placement. For example, if they decide to run ads in college newspapers, on local radio stations or on billboards, either the agency handles the placement itself or uses a company that specializes in placing those ads.

I suspect that online ads are no different. Assuming that is the case, the decision maker is probably not at the company you think should advertise on your site, but rather at an advertising agency or ad placement firm.

nealrm
02-05-2009, 07:21 PM
So I need to determine who it handling the accounts. That may make it easier. If I can get in with an ad company, they should have several accounts.

vangogh
02-06-2009, 11:40 AM
Sounds like you do have the traffic Neal so that's one hurdle crossed. David is probably right that they go through ad agencies. You may be able to contact the businesses directly though I'd think the more information you can find about who actually buys the advertising the better.

KristineS
02-06-2009, 03:24 PM
I don't know if this is something you'd want to do, as there is a fee attached, but I found AdBrands (http://www.adbrands.net/subscribe.htm), which has a account database you can search. That should tell you who has the Lowes account and probably most of the others you might be interested in.

nealrm
02-06-2009, 03:44 PM
Interesting, Have you or someone you know used this service?

KristineS
02-06-2009, 04:35 PM
I haven't used it. I read Advertising Age and Brandweek newsletters, but most of that stuff isn't necessary for my worklife at the moment. I did notice this was based in England, but most of the major ad agencies are interenational, so I didn't think that would matter much.

If you're willing to spend the time doing a lot of Internet sleuthing, you can probably find out what you want to know for nothing except the cost of your time. It just depends on how much your time is worth.

Harold Mansfield
02-08-2009, 07:59 PM
You may want to check with Commission Junction, and Linkshare. Many big name stores have affiliate programs thru them.
A lot of the banners and such that you see for Macy's, JC Penney and Home Depot, etc are affiliate banners, not just straight advertising.

As was said, most companies already have a company that handles that. As far as I know, Lowes does not offer any such program, so the probably do banner placement through their agency.

Do a Google search for "Home Improvement Affiliate Programs" and you may find some other companies, even local, that you may want to add to your site.

The company that handles "Lowes" advertising specifically is Tribal BBDO, New York. They did their TV ads this past Holiday season, not sure if they still handle them, or have anything to do with Online advertising. Some articles point to Omnicom Media as handling thier online advertising. Not sure if the 2 companies are related.

Robert J. Gfeller, Jr. is the
Senior Vice President of Marketing & Advertising for Lowes.

That should get you moving in the right direction.

Anytime you need to know who handles a company's advertising, search the Industry Magazines like Ad Age, and Ad Week.