In a rut? Look no further for inspiration than this week's
In the Trenches subject, Surfline Inc.'s Robin Walker. After burning out from five years of investment banking drudgery, Walker went
from business suit to wetsuit.
About a year and a half ago he put his business know-how and love of surfing to work as Advertising Sales Manager at surf forecast publisher Surfline. There, he
manages ad campaigns, develops marketing materials and extols the site's virtues to advertisers. And when he's longing for the sand and surf, Walker can simply peer out his office window overlooking
the white crested waves of SoCal's Huntington Beach.
Surfline offers surfing enthusiasts free and premium content including surf reports, forecasts and live shots of beaches across the globe, from down the shore in Belmar, N.J. all the way to Zarautz,
Spain. Each month about one million users visit the site, which offers live shoreline glimpses through more than 90 beach cams, and predicts break conditions days ahead using LOLA, its proprietary
automated global surf forecasting tool.
Surf industry standbys like Hurley, Quicksilver and Billabong, as well as advertisers such as Honda, Nissan and Cox Communications run banners, non-
standard size ads and 6-8 second Flash movie spots that play before camera shots are viewed. In special consideration of its premium content subscribers, Surfline must balance advertiser needs with
user acceptance. Thus, certain ad formats like Unicast Superstitials run only in non-premium areas.
What are your favorite online destinations in the a.m.? Why?
I surf in the
morning [for an hour or two]. At work I inspect my mess of email. I check MediaDailyNews, AdWeek, Yahoo! Finance and Surfersvillage...that's a European site that's a collection of press
releases.
And my site. Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is make sure the site works!
What other sites do you visit frequently? Why?
ESPN, 'cause I'm a
dork and I like to look at all the sports. They have amazing innovative ads. ... The expandable banners, as well as transitions from traditional TV spots.
A lot of Yahoo! Finance, since I do a
little bit of online stock trading, enough so that I'm still in the game somehow.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
One of our biggest challenges is getting our
endemic advertisers [Hurley, Quicksilver, Billabong, etc.] to move past traditional print and point-of- purchase, team rider stuff. ... The fact is, a lot of people in the endemic industry think,
"The kids don't look at banner ads, but they look at magazine ads."
What do you like best about your job; what keeps you interested?
Being able to surf. Having your whole
lifestyle revolve around something you love to do is more than most people can ask for.
When will true media integration take place for advertisers?
Our endemic advertisers have
had success...they're starting to get it. You're starting to see these companies have dedicated Internet [staff]. Lots of these people are not from traditional marketing backgrounds. They are surf
people from the surf industry.
As you see more mergers with larger corporations, you'll see more of the attention that there needs to be on online spending. Every single one of my clients is
on my product every single day. It's kind of a group mentality; when they see their competition on there, then they say, "We'd better do it."
What's the most divisive online policy issue
right now?
Non-intrusive ads for the premium members. How can we cater to the premium members and keep the ad business rolling and keep pace with the ad industry? We all know rich media
[and innovative ad formats] are here to stay. There's definitely the demand out there, but right now, those innovative ads are only three to four percent of our ad space.
Do you know
someone who deserves a salute from MediaPost's In the Trenches? Let us know! Contact Kate Kaye at kate@mediapost.com.