S1 Jobs launches ‘e-bay’ ad sales
In what is being claimed to be a first for the UK advertising industry S1 is introducing online ad space auctions for its most valuable inventory.
The company is to sell its Media Playing Unit space – on Scottish recruitment site s1jobs.com – via an ‘eBay-style’ online auction system.
Managing director Mark Smith said: “We believe that this represents a whole new approach to media sales and will, in time, radically change the nature of media-buying. The traditional rate-card model enforces a rigid structure that fails to take account of fluctuating demand for space. Our auction system turns that on its head by allowing buyers, not sellers, to set the price, ensuring advertisers pay exactly what the market decides the space is worth, and no more.”
The MPU space will be sold in two-week ‘lots’ and advertisers can bid up to a year in advance. The system automatically discounts the winning bid to a price just above the next highest offer. Competing bidders are notified whenever a new bid is received.