In troubled economic times, one of the few sectors that remain recession proof is the entertainment industry. Bars, Movies. Music – all stay in business. Call it escapism, diversion, or whatever you want, but entertainment companies seem to prosper when the economy falters. Even if we can no longer afford them, we seem to get even more enthralled in what celebrities are wearing, what the action hero is driving, and where the rock star is touring. Let’s be honest, when your 401K is crumbling, it sure feels good to escape into the latest romantic comedy, RPG alternate reality, or neighborhood watering hole for a couple of hours.
This is great news for web sites dedicated to covering and providing entertainment as well as advertisers targeting this demographic. Just as lines at the movie theaters grow when the Dow plummets, so does traffic to web sites focused on gaming, movies, and celebrity. This is particularly true of affinity sites where the users are engaged and can spend hours sharing their passion in a social community. Because these niche environments have a higher level of user engagement, brand marketers have a better opportunity to connect with the users and communicate their marketing message. Many of these niche sites also allow for more integration sponsorship opportunities that go beyond traditional banner advertising. My personal recommendation: integrated contests and sweepstakes. What movie buff or gamer doesn’t’ love “free stuff” when there’s a world-wide credit crunch.
As an added benefit, for suddenly budget conscience advertisers, these midsize and smaller niche sites tend to have lower CPM rates than the portals and larger sites – making them a real value buy. So when the economy stalls and media budgets get slashed, advertisers should spend their remaining media dollars where consumers are spending more of their time – affinity entertainment sites.
Article by: Mike Dodge is SVP/General Manager of AtomicOnline
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