Should Webkinz go under fire for advertisements?
Webkinz mom has recently posted about the new in-game advertisements on Webkinz - and it has hit various news outlets which includes the New york times and the following was sent to the new york times by a dedicated webkinz player:
“One of the reasons why parents buy Webkinz for their children is the expectation that the site will be free from advertising,” said Susan Linn, the campaign’s director. “It’s disappointing that the site is choosing to maximize revenue at the expense of children.”
Well - isn’t the plan for Webkinz to generate income from the game - as well as their merchandise? What if people stop buying their merchandise - will Webkinz have to find other sources of income to keep their game alive? I don’t see why so many players blogged about this and it hit the media - because in order for Webkinz to stay alive, it needs to produce income to pay for its servers, its company - and keep the company profitable, or we will see the end of Webkinz.
Sure, the merchandise helps fund the project - but you guys have to remember it costs money to make money - and the merchandise costs money to produce - and why complain about one simple ad? You can just ad block and block the advertisements from being displayed.
Another quote from a Webkinz player:
“I bought into the Webkinz phenomenon because there wasn’t mass marketing on the site,” said Ms. Rupp, adding that she has spent more than $300 on Webkinz toys in the last two years. “If you’re putting out $15 for the Webkinz doll, you are paying for the ability to have something ad-free.”
I agree with the whole $15 fee for the Webkinz doll, but again, they have costs and businesses to fund - the merchandise that you buy isn’t free for them to produce, ship, and manufacture to all the major stores.
I, as a dedicated webmaster, believe that Webkinz has every right to place advertisements on their website - and if you don’t like it, then leave.
Hi,
Of course Ganz has the right to advertise, if they chose to do so. What bothered most of the parents that wrote in to my site was that they changed their business model very suddenly. They had proclaimed themselves to be a place that was ad-free, as a very safe place for parents to allow their children to play. You can only gain access to the site by paying a hefty $15 for the stuffed toy - you can’t tell me they don’t make a decent profit on that! The audience for Webkinz is 5-12 year olds. Particularly at the younger ages, parents are justified in their concerns. Suddenly ads started showing up. These ads were not the kind that a pop up blocker could remove - they were actually part of the site, so you couldn’t avoid them. What had parents worried was that they would lead kids to click off the site and go where they shouldn’t. Ganz replied to my email asking them to explain, and they said that they were going to be very judicious in the ads they allowed, and they would not allow click through ads. Some parents were reassured ny this, others were not…. the marketing aspects of this are interesting - why change their model? where are they going with this? Are they positioning themselves to be sold? If so, would less scrupulous ads follow? How do we protect our kids in this day and age? That is what the buzz is about.
Comment by Barbara — December 17, 2007 @ 8:29 am
Well, I highly doubt they’re going to be sold anytime soon. Well, how were the ads apart of the game? Were the ads flash based - or image based coming from the Webkinz server? If you tell me more Barb, I’m sure I can figure out a way to ad block the advertisements.
Ya, but Neopets also caters to the same audience and has a ton of advertisements - what’s the different between the two sites?
Comment by admin — December 17, 2007 @ 12:09 pm