Here's how it works. Below this main element of the page are links to 3-day forecasts for other cities in the region plus Alaska. Click to order. Lightweight, packable jackets for men and women. We wanted to make it possible for an advertiser to offer specific merchandise based on the weather.
Early indications are that the idea works.
Raece says clickthrough rates on the REI forecast spots are consistently three times that of the best-performing ads anywhere else on the Web site. This context-sensitive advertising seems to perform, and Times managers are considering expanding the concept. In the future, the contextual weather ads might go to other single advertisers or a mixture. Currently, the 3-day forecasts for other cities, including in Alaska, bring up the REI ad spots. But a hotel chain could purchase ads for certain cities, for example.