WWD COVERS TECKTONIK MEDIA'S NEW "DIRECT BLOG ADS"

The press is all over our innovative new approach to blog advertising.

Check out this piece just published by the WWD!

CHURCHSTATE: Magazine advertisers often bend and blur editorial lines, whether it’s a supplement, special section or “advertorial.” But where, exactly, are the lines on the Internet, assuming there are lines at all? The ground rules are often nonexistent, especially on blogs. And advertisers are scrambling to come up with innovative ways to attract attention, which has led former Life & Style editor in chief Mark Pasetsky, now the editorial director and publisher of Tecktonik Media, to take on a new approach to blog advertising he’s calling “Direct Blog Ads.”

On his three blogs about young Hollywood, the media industry and today’s hottest gay and lesbian stars, Pasetsky will offer an option to advertisers that combines traditional blog posts with ads. To blur the lines even further, these paid postings will follow each site’s existing blog format, although he said each post will be clearly marked as an ad, so visitors will apparently know the difference.

“We’ll even provide commentary for it,” he added. So, could it be that editors will have license to actually write snarky things about their advertisers? Possibly. Pasetsky predicted that many advertisers won’t mind a little tweaking on the “blog ads,” since it could ramp up interest. “We’ve done a few tests under the radar,” he said, adding the company is in active discussions with advertisers. As for pricing, he declined to provide specific figures, only noting that it will be based on a “premium CPM model.”