Corning Gorilla Glass = MR ad sponsor

[Solomani]

I noticed that Corning Gorilla Glass (3) is a product advertisement sponsor for MacRumors. I'm not trying to start a flame controversy here, but I am puzzled as to who exactly the ad is targeting?

I mean... Corning Inc itself does not sell their industrial-strength glass technology to individual buyers like your typical MacRumors forum visitor. However, they DO sell/license/collaborate their technology to billion-dollar companies such as Apple.

Or maybe the ad itself is just a matter of brand awareness placement? They WANT the Average Joe consumer to be aware that their products exist? And for us to be aware that their glass products technology is something that enhances our iPhone/iPod/iPad devices?

P.S. -- I might like the idea of having a future-model MacBook Air with a Gorilla Glass 3 screen...

[Comeagain?]

We are served ads by an outside agency. Who knows why that is being displayed. The ad agency just must have thought it relevant to the discussions that take place here.

[juanm]

Yes, but the other end of the question still stands: advertising isn't free. Why is Corning paying for this? I doubt anybody is going to click on this banner and decide to buy two tons of glass.
It could be as simple as some kind of advertising budget surplus, so they decided to spend some money on brand awareness campaign.

I'm pretty sure we'll never know the answer, but if it really bothers you, you can contact their PR department.

[fhall1]

Corning also advertises their glass in MacWorld and MacLife magazines....not exactly shooting for billion dollar companies there either - someone must hope it makes brand awareness. As a GLW stockholder, I should write to them about this.

[justperry]

And there are no engineers here on MR, or company representatives

[juanm]

Originally Posted by justperry

And there are no engineers here on MR, or company representatives

If they are targeting engineers, this isn't the right place: how many of them are there? 10%? 5%? If they want to go after engineers and reps, there are more efficient ways to do it, otherwise you can just advertise anything and say "Hey, there must be someone interested, in the lot!".

[justperry]

Originally Posted by juanm

If they are targeting engineers, this isn't the right place: how many of them are there? 10%? 5%? If they want to go after engineers and reps, there are more efficient ways to do it, otherwise you can just advertise anything and say "Hey, there must be someone interested, in the lot!".

Always better than a site which targets children.

I do believe there are plenty of engineers and professionals here on MR, yes there are much better places than this site but that does not mean there are no Pro's here.

[Darth.Titan]

It's called brand recognition. Corning isn't advertising to get the average Joe to start craving bulk glass shipments, rather they want him to know about their product and its capabilities. Then, when a new gadget is advertised as using Gorilla Glass, the buyer already has a perceived image of quality. The gadget sells more units, and Corning sells more glass. Get it?

[Shrink]

Originally Posted by justperry

Always better than a site which targets children.

You mean MR doesn't target....

Ummm...never mind.

[SandboxGeneral]

Originally Posted by Solomani

I noticed that Corning Gorilla Glass (3) is a product advertisement sponsor for MacRumors. I'm not trying to start a flame controversy here, but I am puzzled as to who exactly the ad is targeting?

I mean... Corning Inc itself does not sell their industrial-strength glass technology to individual buyers like your typical MacRumors forum visitor. However, they DO sell/license/collaborate their technology to billion-dollar companies such as Apple.

Or maybe the ad itself is just a matter of brand awareness placement? They WANT the Average Joe consumer to be aware that their products exist? And for us to be aware that their glass products technology is something that enhances our iPhone/iPod/iPad devices?

P.S. -- I might like the idea of having a future-model MacBook Air with a Gorilla Glass 3 screen...

From our FAQ, specifically the bold part:

What do I do about annoying ads?

MacRumors uses an advertising service that supplies ads from a pool. We do not select the specific ads shown or the specific advertisers who participate.

If you find a particular ad especially annoying (e.g., an ad that is oversized, obscures the page, moves around, or has sound), let us know by posting a screenshot in our Site and Forum Feedback forum and telling us the URL it links to. Using this information we can ask to have it removed from the ad pool.

If you find all ads annoying, remember that ads support the site and allow us to provide free news, rumors, and discussion, and that ads are suppressed for paid members. See How do I contribute to MacRumors.com? above.

[Dr McKay]

Maybe they're picking up on how many times Gloria Glass gets mentioned on here and it thinks we're really interested in it.

[jav6454]

Originally Posted by Comeagain?

We are served ads by an outside agency. Who knows why that is being displayed. The ad agency just must have thought it relevant to the discussions that take place here.

This and the fact that MR has a high usage of the words "glass" and "screens". Makes sense from a marketing perspective to market glass products related to technology to a place where such discussion takes place.

In this case, the iPhone forums of MR are filled with stories of people breaking the glass screens of their iPhones.