Full Banners Still Most Prevalent Online, Despite Growth In Sites Supporting Multiple Ad Types And Sizes, Reports AdRelevance Division Of Media Metrix

B-to-B, health & fitness and home & garden sites are most expensive online advertising venues, while community and incentive sites are least expensive

Short and vertical banners showing largest increases in average price

New York, NY August 14, 2000 - Although more Web sites are carrying multiple types and sizes of online advertisements, 97 percent of all Web sites still carry standard 468 x 60 banner ads, according to a new report released today by AdRelevance, a division of Media Metrix (NASDAQ: MMXI) and an innovator in Internet advertising measurement technology. With more sites carrying five or more ad dimensions, the average site now supports four different ad formats, compared to three sizes in the second half of last year.

Key findings from the AdRelevance Rate Card and Ad Dimensions Report, which analyzed non-negotiated rate card prices between January and June 2000 for banner and button advertisements on more than 400 of the most highly visited, popular and influential Web sites, include:

• All popular ad dimensions are showing strong growth in terms of usage by sites, including banners (Full - four percent growth, Short - 13 percent, Half - 10 percent, Vertical - 10 percent) and buttons (Tall - 33 percent growth, Medium - 14 percent, Short - nine percent, Micro - 28 percent).
• Rate card prices for standard 468 x 60 standard banners have declined slightly (down $2.70) in the past six months, dropping from an average full banner price of $33.22 to $30.52 per thousand impressions (CPM).
• During the same time period, advertisers upped online ad spending, with the average amount spent per company increasing 14 percent from $263,000 to $299,000.
• A majority of sites offer discounts on full banner rates, running from 20 percent to 39 percent, with the average discount at 33 percent.
• Although only 16 percent of sites reported using vertical banners - making it the least popular ad dimension - it appears to be rising in usage over time, growing by 10 percent in the past six months.

"Amidst claims that the banner is 'dead,' it's interesting to note that we've seen a slight upward shift in the number of sites using full banner ads - they have become the defacto standard," said Marc Ryan, director of media research for the AdRelevance division of Media Metrix. "While full banners top the online ad popularity list, we've also seen that sites are keeping their options open. The latest AdRelevance findings suggest that there's been an increase in sites supporting multiple ad dimensions and advertisers experimenting with all sizes of online ads, hoping to grab more eyeballs."

Table A:	Percentage of Sites Supporting Multiple Banner Sizes Source: AdRelevance, a division of Media Metrix
	Number of Sites Supported	Q1/Q2 2000	Q3/Q4 1999
	1	10%	23%
	2	15%	22%
	3	17%	19%
	4	14%	16%
	5	16%	13%
	6	9%	5%
	7	12%	1%
	8	5%	1%
	9	2%	0%

Table B:	Frequency of Full Banner Rates Source: AdRelevance, a division of Media Metrix
	CPM	Q1/Q2 2000	Q3/Q4 1999
	$5 and less	2%	1%
	$6 to $10	8%	2%
	$11 to $15	10%	6%
	$16 to $20	11%	17%
	$21 to $25	16%	15%
	$26 to $30	12%	10%
	$31 to $35	11%	10%
	$36 to $40	5%	1%
	$41 to $45	8%	6%
	$46 to $50	4%	9%
	$51 to $55	4%	5%
	$56 to $60	1%	3%
	$61 to $65	1%	2%
	$66 to $70	1%	2%
	More than $70	1%	1%

Table C:	Average Rate by Genre Source: AdRelevance, a division of Media Metrix
	Genre	Q3/Q4 1999	Q1/Q2 2000
	Health & Fitness	$30.00	$42.50
	Movies & Television	$28.84	$34.38
	Yellow & White Pages	$20.00	$23.67
	Kids & Family	$23.19	$26.29
	Home & Garden	$40.00	$42.50
	Games	$23.35	$24.13
	Travel, Maps and Local	$28.50	$28.92
	General News	$37.23	$37.47
	Search Engine	$25.00	$25.00
	Community	$19.70	$19.70
	Music & Streaming Media	$26.68	$25.05
	Personal Expression	$27.50	$25.50
	Portal	$29.93	$27.08
	Business & Finance	$41.75	$38.30
	Society, Politics & Science	$33.75	$29.75
	Sports & Recreation	$33.29	$27.53
	Automotive	$39.15	$31.93
	Comics & Humor	$31.44	$23.75

According to the Report, b-to-b sites are the most expensive for advertisers, with an average rate card of $47.27. Closely following b-to-b are health and fitness and home and garden site genres, both with an average rate card of $42.50. On the other end of the spectrum, genres with the least expensive average rate card prices include community sites ($19.70), yellow and white pages ($23.67) and incentive sites ($22.00).

"Looking at the AdRelevance rate card and ad dimension survey data, we're finding that vertical sites are able to demand a higher rate card, most likely because they can offer advertisers the opportunity to target a defined demographic. More mainstream sites, such as portals and search engines, reach a broader audience and therefore tend to have lower prices on average," Ryan said. "Across all genres, however, average full banner rate card prices have remained relatively stable through the first half of this year compared to the second half of last year."

A complete version of this AdRelevance Special Report, titled "Online Advertising Rate Card Prices and Ad Dimensions" can be viewed at www.adrelevance.com/intelligence/intel_center.jsp and includes compelling ad metric charts and graphs as well as analytic insights on the findings.

Impressions:	The number of times an ad is rendered for viewing. One impression is equivalent to one opportunity to see an ad.
CPM:	The cost per thousand impressions for a particular site. Typically reported as a run-of-site rate.
Genre:	Exclusive groups of sites similar in content and function.

About AdRelevance, a Division of Media Metrix
Media Metrix, Inc., with more than 900 clients, is the leader and pioneer in Internet and Digital Media measurement and the industry's source for the most comprehensive, reliable and timely audience ratings, e-commerce, advertising and technology measurement services. Through its acquisition of AdRelevance, the innovator in Internet advertising measurement technology, the company offers intelligence data on where, when, how and how much web marketers and their competition are advertising online. Reporting actual audience usage behavior for more than 21,000 websites and online properties with its state-of-the-art real-time meter, and using AdRelevance intelligent agent technology to comb thousands of unique URLs for Internet advertisements, Media Metrix helps online and traditional businesses, web marketers, web publishers, ad agencies and financial analysts gain a better understanding of the digital marketplace. Media Metrix has worldwide operations in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, Sweden and the U.K. For more information on AdRelevance and a free trial of the service, please visit www.adrelevance.com or call 1-888-649-6540. Additional information about Media Metrix can be found at www.mediametrix.com.

Editors Note: Unless otherwise noted, please source all data as the following: AdRelevance, a division of Media Metrix.