RealNetworks Announces Results of Streaming Ad Campaign

RealNetworks (www.realnetworks.com), and Avenue A ( www.avenuea.com), a digital marketing company, announced the results of RealNetworks' September streaming ad campaign. The one-month campaign, which began in September, placed streaming ads meant to encourage RealPlayer users to upgrade to RealPlayer 8 at the beginning of streaming video content, on approximately 10 sites. RealNetworks created the streaming media ads, while Avenue A delivered, tracked and optimized results using its Atlas Digital Marketing Technology Suite.

The campaign achieved an average CTR of 5.6%, over 13 times greater than the 0.42% industry average for banner ads. The conversion rate, a click-through resulting in a download of RealPlayer software, was over five times higher than RealNetworks' conversion rate from previous banner ad campaigns. Avenue A and RealNetworks claim these numbers indicate that streaming media advertising is an effective way to reach target audiences and build brands.

"We know that streaming media ads combine the best of TV brand advertising with the best aspect of the Web: direct response. Given the exceptional quality and response of streaming, it was natural that we would utilize the medium that we invented to then promote our own products," claimed Shelley Morrison, vice president of media and distribution sales, RealNetworks, Inc. "We designed tremendously effective RealFlash enhanced ads and worked with Avenue A to target the best sites on which to place them. The results prove what we always knew... that streaming ads really work!"

While these numbers do indicate better results than banner ads, they are the result of an incredibly targeted campaign. The ads only appeared in streaming content played in the RealPlayer format requiring that the viewer was already a RealPlayer user, and the resulting conversion rate makes no differentiation between the purchase of the RealPlayer Plus, and the free download of RealPlayer Basic.