High tariffs at Newsnetz
Newsnetz is replacing Metropool Online, but with significantly higher rates.
Metropool Online, the advertising pool of Tagesanzeiger.ch, Baz.ch and Bernerzeitung.ch, is dead. Long live Newsnetz. Like Metropool Online, the successor product Newsnetz is primarily a virtual service for the advertising market. Normal users, on the other hand, will continue to access it either via tagesanzeiger.ch, baz.ch or bernerzeitung.ch. They may notice that the three websites have been redesigned since August 8. However, the average user will hardly notice that there is an editorial team behind the scenes and that there are many more people working on journalistic content. Perhaps they will gradually notice when the additional editorial work actually brings them greater benefits. Because then they will visit the new-old platform more often.
For the time being, not much has changed from the user's point of view, but it has from the advertiser's point of view. This is because those who previously placed their online campaign in Metropool Online now generally pay significantly more in the news network. Here are four examples: A rectangle that cost CHF 25,000 in the Metropool Online now costs a total of CHF 37,800 on the same three entry pages since August 8. This corresponds to a price increase of 51 percent. A wallpaper previously cost CHF 45,000 and now costs CHF 60,600. Surcharge: 34.6 percent. A skyscraper used to cost 30,000 Swiss francs, while Newsnetz now charges 37,800 Swiss francs - a price increase of 26 percent. The most moderate price increase is for the Maxiboard: it will rise in price from 35,000 to 37,800 francs, which is 8 percent more than before.
What justifies such a price increase, especially in the middle of the year? Have the number of hits and therefore the number of contacts on the three sites increased so massively? Quite apart from the fact that there are no figures yet, it is unlikely. And even in the past, there was nothing to suggest a massive increase in traffic. If we compare the traffic figures for July 2007 and July 2008, for example, which the Net-Metrix-Audit internet research shows for the three websites tagesanzeiger.ch, baz.ch and espace.ch (bernerzeitung.ch does not have its traffic certified separately), there was no significant increase overall. Although tagesanzeiger.ch was accessed by 929,000 computers (unique clients) in July 2008, i.e. immediately before the Newsnetz launch, almost 200,000 more times than a year earlier, baz.ch recorded a decline of almost 100,000 to 226,000 unique clients, while espace.ch remained stable (311,000 unique clients). In short: the steep increase in rates for the news network cannot be justified by increased performance. But with what?
Dominik Lämmler, Head of Advertising Market at Newsnetz, is not at a loss for reasons. Firstly, the massive editorial expansion at Newsnetz and secondly, the relaunch of the three websites justify an increase in rates. And Lämmler claims additional traffic. At the end of 2007, when Metropool Online's rates were set, the three websites together still achieved a total of 1.8 million ad impressions per week, he says. In July 2008, however, the figure was 2.1 million, 16.6 percent more. This shows that the rate increase in terms of thousand contact price (CPM) was only moderate. "The CPM for Maxiboard was even 7.6 percent lower," says Lämmler. That's true, provided you accept the ad impression value (see box). And even then, the rate increase remains massive: the CPM of the Skyscraper is 7.7 percent higher, that of the Wallpaper by 15 percent, and for the Rectangle it rose by 30 percent.
By the way: These prices are not final. They are valid as an introductory offer until September 7. Lämmler is currently in the process of redefining the rates. "Whether we will raise the prices again has not yet been decided; we are still waiting for the latest analysis of ad impressions," he says.
Markus Knöpfli
For the time being, not much has changed from the user's point of view, but it has from the advertiser's point of view. This is because those who previously placed their online campaign in Metropool Online now generally pay significantly more in the news network. Here are four examples: A rectangle that cost CHF 25,000 in the Metropool Online now costs a total of CHF 37,800 on the same three entry pages since August 8. This corresponds to a price increase of 51 percent. A wallpaper previously cost CHF 45,000 and now costs CHF 60,600. Surcharge: 34.6 percent. A skyscraper used to cost 30,000 Swiss francs, while Newsnetz now charges 37,800 Swiss francs - a price increase of 26 percent. The most moderate price increase is for the Maxiboard: it will rise in price from 35,000 to 37,800 francs, which is 8 percent more than before.
What justifies such a price increase, especially in the middle of the year? Have the number of hits and therefore the number of contacts on the three sites increased so massively? Quite apart from the fact that there are no figures yet, it is unlikely. And even in the past, there was nothing to suggest a massive increase in traffic. If we compare the traffic figures for July 2007 and July 2008, for example, which the Net-Metrix-Audit internet research shows for the three websites tagesanzeiger.ch, baz.ch and espace.ch (bernerzeitung.ch does not have its traffic certified separately), there was no significant increase overall. Although tagesanzeiger.ch was accessed by 929,000 computers (unique clients) in July 2008, i.e. immediately before the Newsnetz launch, almost 200,000 more times than a year earlier, baz.ch recorded a decline of almost 100,000 to 226,000 unique clients, while espace.ch remained stable (311,000 unique clients). In short: the steep increase in rates for the news network cannot be justified by increased performance. But with what?
Dominik Lämmler, Head of Advertising Market at Newsnetz, is not at a loss for reasons. Firstly, the massive editorial expansion at Newsnetz and secondly, the relaunch of the three websites justify an increase in rates. And Lämmler claims additional traffic. At the end of 2007, when Metropool Online's rates were set, the three websites together still achieved a total of 1.8 million ad impressions per week, he says. In July 2008, however, the figure was 2.1 million, 16.6 percent more. This shows that the rate increase in terms of thousand contact price (CPM) was only moderate. "The CPM for Maxiboard was even 7.6 percent lower," says Lämmler. That's true, provided you accept the ad impression value (see box). And even then, the rate increase remains massive: the CPM of the Skyscraper is 7.7 percent higher, that of the Wallpaper by 15 percent, and for the Rectangle it rose by 30 percent.
By the way: These prices are not final. They are valid as an introductory offer until September 7. Lämmler is currently in the process of redefining the rates. "Whether we will raise the prices again has not yet been decided; we are still waiting for the latest analysis of ad impressions," he says.
Markus Knöpfli
