Commentary

Strong Suits

As Time Inc. struggles to squeeze its old media fanny into new media attire, the company's myriad print titles would be wise to emulate Sports Illustrated, which, with SI.com/Swimsuit, offered the ultimate case study on dynamic online advertising.

Beyond the tawny skin and siren gazes, the site is stocked with display ads from Budweiser, Planters Peanuts, Coca-Cola's energy drink Vault, and DaimlerChrysler's Dodge brand. Visitors can stream dozens of free videos that are surrounded by pre-roll for the Honda Civic, or buy them from Apple's iTunes music store for $1.99 apiece. There's also a Kid Rock music video, "Rock 'n' Roll Pain Train," adjacent to an Amazon.com link where fans can buy Kid Rock's new album, and a link to Spike.com appears surrounded by streaming video.

Instant messaging "emoticons" are free, but sexy cell phone wallpaper images cost $2 apiece. And as if that weren't enough, the site is also loaded with Yahoo Search Marketing contextual ads.

While the contents of SI's swimsuit issue make it easy to attract visitors, the site makes the most of their visits, packing tons of brand integration and monetization opportunities that are worthy goals for any Time Inc. Web property.

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