Free Britannica Going Away / Banner ads

[Elena O'Malley]

My roommate and I were discussing the issue of banner ads
and "free" web resources needing revenue streams. So ...

Even for those of us who don't turn off Javascript and images
when we surf, we have other defensive mechanisms such as
developing banner blindness and reflexive closing of popup
windows. However...

Are online advertisers determining their success rate solely
through clickthrough-to-purchase algorithms? (The rest
of this doesn't apply to web-only businesses with bad
products/services, by the way -- they're just plain doomed.)

Advertisers using print and non-'net mediums run extremely 
sophisticated statistical regressions on increases of interest in 
or purchase of the product/service within a specified time interval 
after marketing to a target audience (after eliminating other causal
factors). That's why companies advertise on TV, even though 
WonkaVision hasn't been created yet. They have mechanisms for 
determining effectiveness, even at a level of remove.

Are banner ads truly ineffective? Or would they, or can they, be
successful if they were less raucous (or more entertaining) and 
measured success by brand identification leading to eventual 
purchase rather than clickthrough rate? Have they already tried and 
determined that it either doesn't work at all or isn't cost-effective?

My apologies to those who consider this too long and/or off-topic.

Elena

Elena O'Malley, Technology Librarian, Cardinal Cushing Library
Emmanuel College, 400 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115
omalleye at emmanuel.edu