NY Times creating creative ads to mitigate print revenue decline

The New York Times is creating new display ads in an attempt to offset declining revenue from print ads. Some of the creative new ads are listed below. I find the concept of the ads extremely engaging and fun, especially the Prudential campaign that let readers see the front page of the NY Times on the day they were born, or any other day for that matter. This really points to the power of digital marketing, and how creative marketers can get in today's day and age. While I think these ads are great, I'm not yet convinced that companies, specifically, big brands will be rushing back to the NY Times to invest in this display advertising. I appreciate that the NY Times predicts their reader data and performance metrics will persuade companies to spend money, even in their private ad marketplace, I just don't believe these ads can generate a strong conversion rate or ROI metrics since the customer is not showing any specific intent. I do think these futuristic ads will be great for companies looking to do brand marketing and will help offset a portion of the decline in print ad revenue for the NY Times, but in today's environment where marketing budgets are tight, I would imagine marketers will continue to invest where they have the best chance for conversion.

http://paidcontent.org/2013/06/19/the-new-york-times-is-making-ads-for-the-future-but-where-is-the-present-day-money/

• A Prudential campaign that invited readers to pull up the front page of the New York Times on the day they were born. The ad format, which drew on pre-existing Times’ archival tools, was a hit on social media. Here’s a screenshot:
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• A Wisk campaign that was derived from a Times’ culture story about how Picasso painted over canvasses. The original story invited readers to wave their mouse over a Picasso photo to reveal what lay underneath. For the detergent ad, Wisk asked readers to use their mouse to undercover underlying dirt stains. According to Haskell, those who did spent an unusual amount of time fussing over the ad. Here’s a screenshot (you can touch up Picasso here and play with stains here) 

• The Times‘ city guide app, The Scoop, inserted a Citibank map for New York City’s new bike-sharing program

• A National Geographic campaign drew on the “Times Machine” (which Haskell says is normally used only by “history geeks”) to provide historical backdrop for its Killing Lincoln show