Has anyone done this idea yet, that you know of? It sounds like a really cool idea.

Granted I am skimming, but how is what you propose (transparent, auction based fulfillment of ad in designated space) different than project wonderful ( http://www.projectwonderful.com/ ) ?

My idea, is primarily based on time, and really focuses on the analysis of a publisher’s activity to give the advertiser something to actually work with. It appears as if Madhens was focusing on a much larger timescale than what I am suggesting.

Much like the comments within that post – my idea would give companies like ABC the ability to advertise on specific blogs immediately after the airing of their television shows, promoting blogs, online video, their own show website, etc.

Maybe an auction style format isn’t the correct way to go – what other formats can you think of? Publisher defined eCPM (with a suggestion from the service, of course), with the final price being determined by past activity data during the purchased timeframe is my first inclination.

Your thoughts?

I think auctioning ad space gets tough — I believe buyers want to click and buy right then, not have to wait and come back 3, 7 days later to see if they won. If they have a big ad budget, they just want to make the purchase and know where to allocate the rest of their funds next. [just my two cents]

The basic premise is to bring “primetime to the web,” in which advertisers pay to advertise on your site based on a unit of time, rather than eCPM or CPC.

The Ad Widget would be use to gather usage statistics in blocks of time (prob. 15 minutes blocks), like uniques, total visits, geo location, etc.

That data would then be used to determine a particular websites “primetime” in which purchasing an hour or two of advertising on that site would cost more than, for instance, purchasing an hour at 1AM on Saturday morning (in which traffic would be minimal).

Advertisers could then bid on these blocks of time, in the form of an auction, up to the time in which that block occurs. Highest bidder wins the space, their ads are loaded, and they are billed (which then would make it’s way to the publisher).

Some consideration would have to be taken into account concerning days of the week, allowing advertisers to manage a recurring campaign (example: from 6-9PM every Mon, Tues, Wed) – but I think the idea could have merit.