Advertisers are beginning to return to media owners, but in these uncertain times they are increasingly looking to share risk with the media owner, and seeking deals that link payment to response rates or even business generated from their campaigns. Is this the end of the fixed ratecard, where the advertiser places a bet on the efficiency of the media brand to meet their objectives and the response rate is the client’s problem? Should media owners’ revenues be dependent on the quality of the client’s creative or their ability to convert enquiries to sales? Are there ways to meet advertiser demands part-way? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but here are some approaches that have worked for media brands I have been involved with, and could help you build a creative ad deal without undermining your commercial revenue: (more…)