Go2Net Launches Offline National Ad Campaign

Seattle-based Go2Net Inc., a network of branded, technology- and community-driven Web sites, launched its first national offline advertising campaign, designed to generate consumer and industry awareness.

The campaign, developed by the Seattle-based Hadley Green Advertising agency, debuted with a full-color ad in USA Today.

“The Go2Net Network has steadily grown into one of the Internet’s most popular destinations without any concerted advertising efforts, and the next step is to apply an innovative mix of strategies to introduce millions of additional Internet users to Go2Net,” said John Keister, Go2Net President.

Through 1999, Go2Net’s print advertising program will extend to such outlets as Wired, The Industry Standard, MediaWeek and AdWeek, among others. The company will also undertake a targeted national outdoor advertising campaign, focused on five major markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco. Go2Net will also integrate a variety of online advertising programs with its offline efforts. Spending plans were not disclosed.

The Go2Net Network’s properties include: Silicon Investor, a financial discussion site; StockSite, which offers proprietary articles, portfolio tracking tools, company research and news relating to business and finance; MetaCrawler, a metasearch engine; 100hot, a category-by-category ranking index of Web sites; HyperMart, a provider of free business hosting services, WebMarket, a one-stop comparison shopping service, and PlaySite, a Java-based multi-player online games site.