Why promote through the Baronage Web Pages?
Why promote through the Baronage Web Pages?
If your service or product is targetted towards the ABC1 social
groups, you will find it has a direct impact on a readership here
that is computer competent at the family level, receptive to mature
persuasion, and capable of responding electronically immediately
to your message.
What, specifically, will an advertisement do?
It will consolidate the opinions of experienced customers, influence
brand decisions, and alert new users to the availability of what
is offered.
But do we need electronics to achieve this?
You need electronics to exploit the immediacy (the Web's single
great advantage over conventional promotion) whose benefits our
interactive systems bring to our advertisers.
If a commercial operation has its own Website, why should it find
the Baronage Website of any use?
Advertisers operating their own Web sites establish a corporate
identity in the electronic communication sector, deliver product
information directly to their customers, build brand awareness,
consolidate brand loyalty, capture new customers, improve customer
service, undertake market research, and sell their services and
products to on-line customers. BUT - to make all these activities
truly effective, they must first persuade the viewers to visit
their Website. Viewers tend to patronise only those sites offering
content in which they are interested. The Baronage Press provides
this content, gives the viewers an opportunity to learn more about
the Advertisers, and then provides a hyperlink to the Advertisers'
own Websites.
It is for this reason that we describe an Advertiser's hyperlink as a bridge. It joins the Web's huge readership to Advertisers' Websites of which they might otherwise have remained unaware.
How big is the Web readership?
Probably the lowest estimate at midsummer last year was 35 million.
Many analysts predicted 40 million by the beginning of this year.
How many of these readers research family history?
We do not know. But based on the number of English-language family
history programs sold to computer users we estimate the figure
is around 4 million and growing. (One program alone, Broderbund's
Family Tree Maker, has sold 800,000 copies, and expects to pass the million mark.)
How does Sponsorship work?
A Sponsor acquires sole promotion rights for a specific Baronage
Press product (such as, for example, the Mists of Antiquity anthology), and then has the ability to use the agreed amount
of promotional space for its own advertisements, and to sell an
agreed amount of space to other advertisers (subject to those
being approved by The Baronage Press).
Where are the advertisements fitted in?
Advertisements appear with editorial in the form of "banners"
hyperlinked to other pages with detailed information on the advertised
product or service. The hyperlink may be to a "gateway" that will
be on the Baronage server (leading to a "minisite") or on the
Advertiser's own server, and in this case there will be an interactive
procedure that allows the reader to request further information,
to upload information or messages, or to order and pay for goods
and services.
There are also "pennons", small banners which reinforce product or service identities, usually with the use of a well-known logo. Unless a related banner is featured on another page, pennons do not have a hyperlink. If there is a related banner, a pennon can share its hyperlink at no extra cost.
How do your prices compare with others on the Web?
They are higher than many. This is primarily because the banners
and pennons will be seen by a targeted readership interested in
the advertiser's products and services. The Baronage pages are
read by ABC1 adults in a serious mood - many of them planning
an intercontinental, once-in-a-lifetime, ancestor-hunting vacation
that will require them to choose airlines, hotels, car hire, clothing,
travel goods, gifts and souvenirs, insurance and banking services.
And all these travellers will pass alongside or through duty-free
shops while in transit.
Lower prices will readily be found on those sites that have no regular adult readership and thus do not assist their advertisers to consolidate their promotion through repetitive impact.
Can we just use small logos alone?
Yes. These take the form of "buttons" no larger than 36 pixels
square, and are appropriate for scattering over a large number
of pages. Organisations with a distinctive and famous logo, such
as Apple's, can benefit substantially from this type of image
consolidation. Prices are negotiated according to the number to
be used.
Can banners be redesigned before the contract period is over?
Yes. Banners may be replaced with new designs for an additional
cost appropriate to the additional work necessary. Designers should
note that the banner has two roles. First, it is to promote the
product or service name to the readers who do not click for more
information. Second, it is to persuade the reader to click for
more information. The enthusiasm to achieve the second sometimes
overlooks the importance of the first as a means to consolidate
an identity.
What about pennons? Can they be redesigned before the contract
period is over?
No. An Advertiser may withdraw a pennon, but its replacement is
treated as beginning a new contract.
What is a "screen"?
Whenever a page containing an Advertiser's banner or pennon is
downloaded, the viewer may read it, a "screen" (or "impression"
or "banner view" as other publishers term it), or click on it
for more information, a "click" (or "click-through). The number
of "screens" indicates the exposure an advertiser receives, the
number of "clicks" is a measure of a banner's effectiveness at
prompting further enquiries.
A per screen charge could be ruinous if the advertisement was overwhelmingly successful. Can this pro rata charge be capped?
Yes. A maximum charge can be agreed, and when the equivalent number
of screens and clicks has been reached, the banner and/or pennons
will be withdrawn until the Advertiser wishes the advertisement
to be run again.
What are "hits"?
"Hits" are the visits made to specific items on a Website. Their
number is to some extent a useful measure of technical capability,
but can be misleading in its relevance to advertising.
Why is there a separate charge for screens and clicks?
Some viewers will download a screen once and keep it permanently,
giving excellent value for the Advertiser at no cost. The additional
charge for a click brings a little revenue to the publisher when
the Advertiser's information pages are accessed from that downloaded
screen.
How long will current charges be effective?
The pro rata charge is unlikely to be altered in the immediate future. However,
the flat rate basic charges may be raised from 1st July 1999.
Will the Baronage artists design Advertisers' banners, pennons
and information pages?
Yes. Banners and pennons will be designed to accord with Advertisers'
instructions and fees will be negotiated on a time basis. As a
guide, Advertisers should allow between $100 and $300 for the
design of a banner or pennon, but an Advertiser requesting especially
complex artwork may be quoted a special price related directly
to the designer's time.
Information pages may have many illustrations included, and thus will require individual quotations.
What is the cost of a gateway?
The basic cost is $5,000 per year for creation and subsequent
control, plus a transaction charge for each activity negotiated
according to its nature. An Advertiser using an in-house server
may assume full responsibility for the gateway's operation and
then pay only the basic charge.
These quoted $ charges are US$?
Yes.
What is the schedule for artwork submission?
Artwork must be received no later than ten days before the contracted
start date. Electronic artwork may be sent by e-mail to artwork@baronage.co.uk,
must be clearly and unambiguously identified, and must be in the
form of an uncompressed GIF file. Text files should be in ASCII
format and supported by a faxed printout. Any late submissions
may be delayed by The Baronage Press until the following Monday.
What are the effective dates for the payment of invoices?
Advertisers receive their first invoice before the start of the
contract period, and payment is due in full within 30 days of
the start of the contract. Subsequent invoices are issued quarterly.
The full contract terms are printed on the reverse side of the
written and signed Order Forms, and take precedence over these
"answers to frequently asked questions" should there be any discrepancy.
Are animated advertisements and MAP advertisements accepted?
Not at present, but these will be considered on an individual
basis as the newer browsers receive wider use among the Baronage
readership. (The Baronage Website concentrates on the provision
of information for as many readers as possible, rather than on
the demonstration of the newest Web technical capabilities for
those surfers who have the latest browsers.)
How can an Advertiser's banners be found if their page is unknown?
Go to the Baronage Press Home Page (the Contents page), click
on the Index of Sponsors and Advertisers golfball icon, find the
name in the Advertisers' Index, and click on it.
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