You might notice WindyCitizen.com's front page is looking a little sunnier today. All credit goes to its 24-hour sponsorship program, launching today, which gives Chicago advertisers a new, fun, creative, and splashy way to share their story with Chicago by taking over the site with their brand for a day.
With this new program, the first of its kind in the Chicago market, advertisers looking to reach Chicagoans gain an option that doesn't require them to shoehorn their message into ugly, easily-ignored little boxes.
Today's 24-hour sponsor, the program's first, is Hot Tweeters, a Chicago-based startup launching this week that lets you browse profile photos on twitter and bookmark the *ahem* hotties.
The site's founder, Chicago-based entrepreneur Pek Pongpaet, says he chose the Citizen's new program over other local advertising options because "it gets my website brand out there in a way that packs more punch than just a banner ad that people usually mentally skip through. With a site takeover, you can't miss it and even if you don't click on it right away, I'm willing to bet you've
registered it in your mind."
Pongpaet's attitude is one shared by many of the advertisers I've spoken with over the last few months. There are people who would like to advertise on popular Chicago web sites but are less than enthusiastic about using banner ads to do so.
One of the great things print newspapers have going for them is full-page ads. Advertisers love them because they're big, beautiful and pack a punch. They can convey a lot of information and make a brand look classy and memorable.
There's been no equivalent for online advertising at the local level. Advertisers, especially local businesses, have been confined to standard image banners that readers have grown adept at ignoring (and with good reason, they're often hideous!). Newspaper sites have tried all manner of flash-driven pop-ups and rollovers, but the general approach of local publishers has been to just pack more ad units onto the page.
WindyCitizen.com's 24-hour sponsorship program is our answer to the full-page ad. We redesign the site to match and highlight your brand and include a link to your site after the 5th story on the front page. If you're looking to reach Chicago, there's no other program that will let you tell your story to tens of thousands of Chicagoans like this will.
To local advertisers: If you're interested in featuring an upcoming event, special offer or new product on the Windy Citizen through our 24-hour sponsorship program, check out our sponsorship page, where you can download our media kit and contact me to learn more about our audience and pricing information.
To Windy Citizen Readers: What do you think about all this? My job is to make this business sustainable so it can grow and provide you with a better and better experience. 24-hour sponsorships can help get us there. If you know of Chicago businesses or non-profits who might be interested in our new program, drop me a line.
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BradFlora
Brad Flora is CEO of WindyCitizen.com, a web service that lets people share their favorite Chicago news and events with their friends and neighbors. More
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