Creative, Web + Design Professionals Advertising Network

A List Apart, 37signals, Daring Fireball, Waxy.org, The Morning News, Kottke.org, Design Observer, Computerlove and Coudal Partners make up The Deck. The premier advertising network for reaching web and design professionals, The Deck serves up millions of page views each month and is uniquely configured to connect the right marketers to a targeted, influential audience.

We’re picky about the advertising we’ll accept. We won’t take an ad unless we have paid for and/or used the product or service. Sell us something relevant to our audience and we’ll sell you an ad. Limited opportunities are currently available for December through February.

One Impression at a Time

With the exception of “roadblocks,” which we’ll discuss later, there are only twelve advertising spots available each month for the entire Deck. Only a single ad will be shown for each page viewed. In essence, buying a month on The Deck gives you an exclusive showing on 8.33 percent of all the pages viewed for that month across all nine sites. And there won’t be Google or other third-party ads diluting your exposure. The Deck ad is the only ad on the page.

A buy in The Deck reaches the creative community on the web in an uncluttered, controlled environment, far more valuable than a standard banner or a single text ad among dozens of others. Current Deck ads are also listed on this page with our notes of endorsement.

Cost Per Influence

We’re not selling The Deck based on page views or hits or click-through, but if we were, the CPM for a buy here would be priced well below industry norms. Most media who say “we don’t sell on the numbers” do so because they don’t have the numbers to support their rates. That’s certainly not the case with The Deck, as a group the network serves up millions of impressions each month. Plus, The Deck ads are not redirected and the very high page rank of the nine Deck sites can make a significant difference in an advertiser's search rankings during and well after a campaign is complete. All that being said, it’s not about “cost-per-thousand,” it’s about “cost-per-influence.”

The loyal, regular readers of the nine sites consist of web publishers, writers, developers, editors, reporters and bloggers as well as influential designers and art directors. Plus, the aggregate audience is made up of photographers, illustrators, students, filmmakers, typographers, artists, animators, musicians, coders, designers and many other creative professionals.

In the Details

The twelve ads each month are in rotation across all nine sites. The ads are 120 pixels wide by 90 pixels tall and also allow for up to 50 characters of text to accompany the image which allows advertisers to make their ads a bit more graphic, so to speak.

Pricing and Roadblocks

The current rate for ads in December through February is $5300 USD per ad per month and this rate is valid through February 28, 2007. Additionally, marketers who desire 100% of the page views on the network for a given day or days may be able to purchase a “roadblock” for $2700 USD per day. Roadblocks are ideal for product or service launches and other time sensitive communications like movie openings and conferences. Monthly advertiser schedules will be extended by a day for each day lost to roadblocks.

Contact

For specific information, or to inquire about placing a schedule, Thank you.