CNI Projects and Publications

ELECTRONIC BILLBOARDS ON THE DIGITAL SUPERHIGHWAY

A Report of the Working Group on Internet Advertising

Billboards

Billboards are the signs on the road that tell about services on or near the road -- in this case the Internet equivalents of hotels and motels, tourist attractions, restaurants, and gas stations. They are most acceptable when they appear in context, most reviled when they are scattershot attempts to find audiences in unlikely spots.

A billboard might be a press release or product announcement on a list or newsgroup devoted to a related topic. For instance, a list devoted to public-access library catalogs might accept a posting from a company that helps institutions computerize their card catalogs.

Some lists tend to get more billboards than others. On com-priv, where participants discuss the commercialization and privatization of the Internet, related advertising is viewed with equanimity:

     To: com-priv@psi.com
     Subject: Re: Internet Business Report and Internet 
     Letter Date: Mon, 15 Nov 93 23:27:22 EST
     
     Attention Subscribers of Internet Business Report
     or Internet Letter
     
     Flushed with their continued international success,
     the publishers of THE INTERNET BUSINESS JOURNAL are
     presently offering you a free three month trial
     subscription to THE INTERNET BUSINESS JOURNAL.
     THE INTERNET BUSINESS JOURNAL's premiere issue in
     June 1993 attracted the attention of sources such as
     Business Week, Fortune, Wired, The Globe and Mail,
     and since then continues to set the standard for
     reporting on Internet business opportunities and
     resources.
     
     The editor of THE INTERNET BUSINESS JOURNAL, Michael
     Strangelove, explains the reasoning behind this bold
     free offer, "We have a product that is guaranteed to
     be simply the best, and therefore dare to invite
     comparison. When it comes to price, focus, content,
     and quality, we continue to set the standard. Success
     is always imitated, but why should you settle for
     smaller, more expensive products?
     
     Subscribers may take advantage of this offer by
     sending proof of subscription to THE INTERNET
     BUSINESS JOURNAL, Subscription Manager, 208-A
     Somerset Street East, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
     K1N 6V2. (Tel: 613-747-6106 / FAX: 613-564-6641).
     
     THE INTERNET BUSINESS JOURNAL:
       Commercial Opportunities in the Networking Age
       Published by Strangelove Internet Enterprises Inc.
       Purveyors of Fine Internet Publications
       Mstrange@Fonorola.Net
     
     [From: mstrange@fonorola.net (Strangelove Press)
     Date: Mon. 15 Nov 93 23:27:22 EST]

Alt-wedding, a Usenet discussion group important to those who are planning weddings, is not comfortable with advertising, and participants gently make their feelings known when advertisers invade their space:

     From: Brown@underground.irhe.upenn.edu (Teisa Brown)
     Newsgroups: alt.wedding
     Subject: Wedding Coordinator
     Date: 6 Jan 94 19:46:06 GMT
     Followup-To: alt.wedding
     Organization: IRHE
     Lines: 25
     
     Hello Everyone:
     
     I am so happy that so many are going to be married
     soon. Wedded Bliss! 
     
     Nothing like it.
     
     My name is Teisa Brown and I live in Philadelphia,
     Pennsylvania. I wanted to let you all know that I
     am a professional wedding coordinator and would be
     happy to extend my services to you. I can work with
     you even if you do not live the Philadelphia area.
     I specialize in wedding budgets $5,000 and under.
     
     I can be reached via e-mail or phone at ....
     during the day. Should you want additional
     information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
     My mailing address is as follows:
     ....[name and address deleted]...
     
     Look forward to hearing from you soon.
     
                #     #     #

     From: Brown@underground.irhe.upenn.edu (Teisa Brown)
     Newsgroups: alt.wedding
     Subject: APOLOGIES FOR AD
     Followup-To: alt.wedding
     Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 10:00:39 -0500
     Organization: IRHE
     Lines: 8
     
     In response to the ad I placed about a wedding
     coordinator, I want to apologize for sending my ad
     through this forum. I have offended a few and they
     have let me know.
     
     Never again will I make that mistake.
     
     Teisa Brown
     University of Pennsylvania

The participants in alt.wedding, who are more interested in the flames of passion than in flaming, probably treated Ms. Brown gently. Billboards for products unrelated to the subject under discussion on lists and newsgroups may very well engender unprintable words and threats -- "flaming."

But where such advertising is allowed, it is often most welcome, because the participants in these lists and newsgroups have joined to get the kind of information advertisers can provide.

For advertisers, billboards on lists and newsgroups that allow it are opportunities to reach people who have already expressed an interest in the kinds of products and services offered. These people are, in marketing terms, "pre-qualified": they care about these products and services.

Back to "Electronic Billboards on the Digital Superhighway"