MSN Bans Pop-Up Advertising Across Entire Network
MSN is to become the first major online media owner to react to consumer demands by bringing an end to selling pop-up advertising on its network of websites.
The company has announced plans to phase out the sale of pop-ups and pop-unders over the next few months after customer research discovered they are a cause of major irritation to the majority of internet users.
MSN claims the removal of the formats represents a natural step in the evolution of the online advertising market. It also demonstrates the move towards standardised formats, which is currently being spearheaded by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Commenting on the initiative, MSN’s general manager of digital marketing sales, Chris Dobson, said: “At MSN we are committed to providing creative alternatives to pop-up and pop-under advertising, including multiple advertising formats designed to meet advertisers’ budget needs and campaign goals. This move represents a win for consumers, advertisers and our partners.”
Industry sources suggest that pop-up and pop-under campaigns currently account for less than five percent of MSN’s total revenue, but probably generate somewhere between 50% and 80% of negative feedback directed at the portal from internet users.
Jean-Paul Edwards, head of media futures at Manning Gottlieb OMD, claims the problem is not so much with the pop-up format itself, but with the issue of frequency. He said: “The majority of pop-ups are very annoying because they are generally done by the less savvy marketers, who are just going for spam coverage.”
He added: “A well targeted pop-up can be a very useful tool – but the issue is with a lack of frequency capping. Pop-ups that aren’t capped just keep coming and can be very intrusive, but those which are restricted to just one a day are usually highly effective.”
Freeserve recently redesigned its homepage and reduced the number of pop-up ads in a bid to increase usage. However, the UK’s largest internet service provider currently has no plans to stop selling pop-up ads.A spokesperson for Freeserve told NewsLine: “We have absolutely no intention of dropping pop-ups at this stage. They are still an integral and useful part of the majority of our clients’ media campaigns.”
Recent research from the IAB shows that banners remain the most popular online format, closely followed by paid-for-search listings, which now accounts for 36% of the total market, up from just over 30% on the first half of the previous year (see Internet Advertising Reaches Record Levels).
MSN: 020 7465 7700 www.msn.co.uk
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