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Advertising space on the web has typically been sold by the
banner and by the click. Now, thanks to a hot new concept called
pixel marketing, it's being sold by the pixel. That's right.
Just when you thought there was nothing left to sell, the web
has profitably parceled into blocks of pixels that advertisers
are snapping up to promote their brands.
Here's how pixel marketing works. Pages are made up of pixel
grids, typically of one million pixels which generally sell from
50 cents to $1 each. An advertiser who buys blocks of these
pixels can design an image which will be displayed on them, and
will link visitors to a corresponding website.
The idea for pixel marketing is credited to Alex Tew, a
21-year-old student from Wiltshire, England, who developed The
MillionDollarHomepage.com to raise funds for his university
education. Tew launched the site on August 26, 2005. Within
three days of the launch, with no marketing budget, Tew sold his
first 20 x 20 pixel block. Motivated, he put out a press
release. Two weeks later, he had made enough money to pay for
his first year at university. He has now made more than half a
million dollars.
In his Million Dollar Blog from August 26, Tew wrote, "I
thought, this could be something crazy enough to work! Because I
think people like crazy/quirky ideas. If this captures people's
imaginations and people check out the site, then the pixels on
the homepage will have value -- and people will buy them ... The
way I see it though: I've got nothing to lose by trying. And I'm
sure it'll be fun."
It turned out to be fun and very profitable. In no time, pixel
marketing began catching on like wildfire.
"Watch out, it could be the next most prominent event since
Google Adsense," writes UK marketing consultant Julie Vernon in
her article "What is Pixel Promotion All About?"
But could pixel marketing pose a serious threat to Google
Adsense? It's still too early to predict the growth of this
intriguing new form of marketing.
"Driving this new medium is the notion that pay per click costs
too much," writes George Hubka in his article "What is Pixel
Advertising?" "If you had 10 clicks a day at 10 cents each, in
one year it would cost you $365! Take that out 5 years and you
are talking about over $1800! The reality is that often clicks
cost a lot more than 10 cents each, which translates to a whole
lot more money. People have been reported paying more than $50 a
click."
Not only are pixel ads cheaper than banners and Adsense, many
site owners have sworn to keep their sites live for several
years so advertisers get long-range results and pay less for it.
Right now, it's fascinating to watch this new type of marketing
vehicle in its infancy. What will pixel marketing ultimately
become when it grows up? It's anyone's guess but it should be
fun to watch it grow.
About the author:
Keith Tomlinson is the President of Excalibur Communications,
the company that created TheBeerHomepage.com Pixel Marketing web
portal. Besides web marketing and development Excalibur provides
value added 1-800 lead generation, tracking and conference call
services to a wide range of clientele through North America.
Visit www.thebeerhomepage.com
to find out more about a new way of advertising.
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