Fairfax Media Metro Division launches powerful new online advertising solution the ‘Big Unit’
In an Australian first, Fairfax Media Metro Division has launched a powerful new online advertising solution designed to deliver better results for advertisers and an improved web experience for Fairfax online audiences.
Called the Big Unit, the initiative enables advertisers to own a web page with a large format
ad which, for the first time, has complete functionality built into it, allowing consumers to watch videos or download images from within the ad while never leaving the web page they are viewing.
For advertisers, the key benefits of the Big Unit are its ability to drive maximum branding
impact by allowing prominence of the advertising message while also providing a larger
canvas for creativity and deep audience engagement via content such as social and sign up tools, videos, photo galleries & interactive maps.
For consumers, the Big Unit means dramatically reduced clutter on the web page, a more streamlined appearance and easy, user-friendly advertising interaction.
Says Ed Harrison, commercial director, Fairfax metro Media: “The Big Unit is a powerful new solution for our major advertisers and has already delivered strong results for key clients who have used the product prior to its official launch in February. This initiative is another demonstration of how Fairfax champions the development of new technology and advertising opportunities that enable brands to engage more effectively with consumers.”
Major advertisers who have either already executed or committed to campaigns using
the Big Unit include Tourism Queensland, Nestle (Toddlers Milk and Milo) and Samsung.
Tige Simmons, digital marketing manager, Tourism Queensland, said: “The Big Unit
worked very effectively for our recent ‘Vitamin Me’ Queensland campaign. The size and
functionality of the ad unit made it possible to convey various different messages in one
ad format. All of the different components utilised a unique call to an action URL to land
the consumer on relevant content.”
Julie Chapman, senior brand manager, Nestle Toddlers Milk, said: “The Big Unit allows
us to showcase all our campaign offerings within one space which traditional banner
advertising does not.”
The Big Unit, which is similar to AOL’s Project Devil launched last year in the US, features technology developed in-house by Fairfax media’s digital innovations and technical operations teams, and delivers a substantially improved reach and cost efficiency model for advertisers compared with the US version.
“We have ensured that the Big Unit has been developed so it can run across our vast
digital network. By offering our advertisers the ability to reach large targeted audiences,
Big Unit helps yield more value for their investment,” Harrison concluded.