This kind of links in with the thread about banner blindness we have currently running.
I think time is going to prove me right – I have been saying for a long time this industry and the internet in general to an extent, ignore branding and the importance of it.
There is a huge value in branding your site, and that is where display ads come into the game.
But, today’s displays are all click oriented, the branding value is ignored.
It wasn’t always that way, before the US ad ban 888 and Party were branding via yahoo and many other venues, and they benefit from it to this day.
I think what we will see is more themed sites, sites that stick out because they are different from the norm.
Most of the casino sites look like a mess of billboards thrown on one page, affiliate sites are all similairly laid out with joomla, wordpress etc. Nothing sticks in the visitor’s mind, and if you don’t get that click instantly you’ve lost it.
IMO we will see a return of themed sites, and they will do a lot better because people will actually remember them, especially if they also do branding campaigns.
Just my 2 cents on this…