Ad-Supported Cyber-Magazines To Launch on Internet By Daniel S. Levin

SEBASTOPOL, CALIF. - In the first significant effort to capitalize on the marketing possibilities of the vast global computer network known as

So far, O’Reilly & Associates Inc., which publishes technical computer books, has signed up a handful of advertisers for its Global Network Navigator Magazine and other publications, which will be offered free of charge on-line to Internet users. High-tech firms such as Delphi Internet Services and CMP Publications as well as NordicTrack and retailer Bookstacks will be among the first advertisers.
Though companies have promoted their products through the Internet’s information resources centers and junk e-mail before, this is believed to be the first attempt to create an advertising medium on the network.
The Internet, an amalgamation of 30,000 computer networks connecting an estimated 15 million users that exchange e-mail and information, is growing at the rate of 10% a month. Such numbers should be enough to spark advertisers’ interest, but the culture and demos of the Internet will force companies to rethink their approach to advertising.
‘We’re trying to do something that works within the culture of the Internet,’ said Dale Dougherty, publisher of GNN. ‘We’re not offering attention-getting advertising. We’re offering content-based advertising.’ Viewers will have to call up the advertising deliberately.
Selecting from a menu of advertisers, for example, those who want information about S.F. law firm Hiller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe, which has signed on as an advertiser, will find a general overview of the firm. By choosing other options, the viewer might then get biographies of the partners, a description of their practice, the major cases the firm has handled and even articles written by partners.
‘It’s not the type of stuff you can put into a conventional ad,’ said Dougherty, ‘but it’s interesting and helps establish a relationship with customers.’ Three months of advertising can range from $500 for a one-page business profile to $5,000 for up to 25 documents about the company.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)