Will 2007 Be a Banner Year for Poker/Advertising?
NBC has a new poker show airing in January — Poker after Dark. Not only does it mark the return of Shana Hiatt, but also it apparently recognizes that interest in poker TV isn’t going away … there’s simply a demand for actual quality now.
About a month ago, I was getting excited about the prospects of pimping this show like crazy — because NBC was going to pay me to do so. It stood to be only a good thing for blogs, with major non-poker companies recognizing the value of spending less money to reach a more targeted market via blogs. But in the end, it was just like old times in the poker biz … with various multibillion-dollar enterprises afraid of potential legal troubles associated with the game.
(At least that’s what they’re telling Pokerati.)
Click below to read my correspondence with the media buyer that reveals the future business potential of blogs, and the stretch of hurdles still to overcome:
________________________________________
From: amy.muething
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 4:38 PM
To: danm
Subject: RE: NBC Poker After Dark
Completely makes sense. No, by bigger sites I meant AOL and Yahoo. Unfortunately, I’m not as familiar with the poker sites as I am with entertainment (who we typically work with) so your advise is greatly appreciated!
Amy Muething
StarLink Worldwide
“dan michalski”
12/22/2006 04:34 PM
To amy.muething
cc
Subject RE: NBC Poker After Dark
Thanks much. I am not offended – though was wondering if it was simply the cost that became prohibitive. I think you will find the larger sites – CardPlayer, Bluff, PokerPages, etc. – are way more in bed with the online poker sites than many of the bloggers … but again, I say this not as a complaint … just acknowledgment of a changing business environ.
________________________________________
From: amy.muething
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 4:09 PM
To: danm
Subject: RE: NBC Poker After Dark
That’s great to know! The decision has already been made to only run on larger sites to be safe for now, but next time we promote the show I will be sure to contact you. Thanks again!!
Amy
“dan michalski”
12/22/2006 04:06 PM
To amy.muething@starlinkworldwide.com
cc
Subject RE: NBC Poker After Dark
I understand. It should be noted that Pokerati has no relationships with any online poker sites. We made that decision after much debate in October.
________________________________________
From: amy.muething
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 3:47 PM
To: danm
Subject: RE: NBC Poker After Dark
Hi Dan!
Thanks for getting in touch with me. Unfortunately, we just found out this week from NBC legal that we will be unable to run on any poker blogs in case there are any pay poker sites. I apologize that this fell through, but I thank you for your help. I hope you have a very happy holidays!
Amy
“dan michalski”
12/19/2006 01:03 PM
To amy.muething@starlinkworldwide.com
cc
Subject RE: NBC Poker After Dark
Hi Amy,
Just following up to see if NBC is still interested in some blog advertising. It’s possible to get them up a little before the new year.
Let me know.
Best,
Dan
________________________________________
From: amy.muething
Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2006 4:31 PM
To: danm
Subject: RE: NBC Poker After Dark
Thanks Dan! This is very helpful. I owe a recommendation to my client by end of day tomorrow, and I’m hoping to have their approval to move forward by the end of next week. I’d definitely be interested in the top slot or top left sidebar, so I will confirm with you as soon as possible. Please let me know if you hear any more from the other clients. I look forward to working with you. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Amy
“dan michalski”
11/21/2006 04:06 PM
To amy.muething
cc
Subject RE: NBC Poker After Dark
Amy,
Thanks for getting in touch. I have three possibilities that might make sense for you. We can place a big ad at the very top of the site – in the white space to the right of the Pokerati title for $XXXX.
An ad at the very top of the left sidebar would go for $XXXX.
And an ad elsewhere on the left sidebar goes for $XXX-XXX, depending on size and location.
I should let you know I am currently in discussions with XXXXXXX (the one in Oklahoma) and a table-maker for that top-banner position. (we used to have google ads there.)
Let me know how this will work for you.
Best,
Dan Michalski
________________________________________
From: amy.muething
Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2006 3:48 PM
To: info@pokerati.com
Subject: NBC Poker After Dark
Hello,
My name is Amy Muething, and I’m an associate on the NBC account with Starlink. We are interested in running an ad for the month of January for NBC’s upcoming series Poker After Dark. It will premiere on Jan. 1. The show will air Monday through Saturday at 2am. Each week will feature a different table in the back room of Vegas casinos. The finals will be on Friday with a recap of the previous week airing on Saturday.
I’d like to know your rates and availability for the month of January ASAP. Please confirm when you have a chance. If you have any other questions, please let me know. Thanks!
Amy
Amy Muething
Starlink Worldwide
jackietrehorn says:
January 1st, 2007 at 12:06pm
Very interesting exchange here Dan. Having 20+ years in the media buying business I can tell when someone doesn’t know what they are doing. It amazes me that this person did not request any types of numbers from you. A good media buyer makes a recommendation to a client based on the delivery of the media vis a vis the cost of that media. Did she not ask you for unique page views, click thrus, monthly traffic, or any of that?
She says she’s an “associate” on the accout and works at Starlink, which is a huge media buying service. This tells me that she may be very junior and was given the task of finding “opportunities”. She didn’t do her homework at all. I don’t know what your rates are but I am sure you could compete against Yahoo and AOL both of which charge a CPM rate in which you agree to buy a certain number of 1000 views (the “M” in CPM). Once your ad has had that number of views, then your ad comes off the site.
I am sure that you could beat Yahoo and AOL on the basis of having a more qualified audience and possibly a competitive or even lower CPM (which you might want to do to have someone like NBC as a client). You should arm yourself with a presentation on your numbers (see above) with a proposal based on CPM, take it to Amy, copy her boss.
DanM says:
January 1st, 2007 at 12:56pm
thanks for your insight, jackietrehorn. indeed, i did a little research and discovered she was very junior. i believe she graduated from college like last year.
and though i don’t remember specifically, i usually do give some basic traffic info. (it’s possible that i responded twice to an email, once with the traffic stuff, and thus part of it wasn’t included in the thread i cut and paste.)
typical pokerati numbers are 25,000 uniques a month, 55,000 visits, about 350k page views … and an aveg. visit duration of about 9 1/2 minutes.
DanM says:
January 1st, 2007 at 1:00pm
p.s., like you, i recognized that she was not necessarily on top of her game. however, since few companies comprehend the value of blog advertising nor the nature of the way we connect with readers, i saw this as a potential advantage … as it seemed like they knew blogs were “hot” and had a chunk of money earmarked for them. cool — especially on a quick-hit campaign. hardly shocks me that they went with no blogs in the end, however. they will come around, i suspect … because you are right — we can offer people a more targeted audience for a lower cost.
jackietrehorn says:
January 1st, 2007 at 11:01pm
So, on the basis of a $20-$40 CPM (page view) you should be charging them $7M to $14M a month.
I would hold them to minimum of one month.
Your 9.5 minutes avg. visitation seems pretty high, I think (not doubting your number, I just think that it is probably well above industry standard which should be a Pokerati selling point).
Now if you had demographics to throw in the mix. You probably have a lot of M1824 which should make them drool.
jackietrehorn says:
January 1st, 2007 at 11:06pm
Also, don’t assume that they had money budgeted for “blogs” it doesn’t work that way. If you want NBC money it is going to have to be carved out of a larger budget. If they have an online or “direct media” budget, that’s your battle ground.