With the Super Bowl coming up tomorrow and all the talk of ads and advertising, I thought this would be a good time to post my review of Martini Media Network.  If you are considering using Martini Media Network, read on.  I hope this review will help you make a more educated decision.

Martini Media Network Overview

What is Martini Media Network?  It is an ad provider.  They put ads on web sites through the Adify Network.  But their ads are different.  They target more the affluent and readers who earn $100K or more, with ads tailored toward them.

While I had Martini Ad Network’s ads on my two sites, The Golf Space and Hooked On Golf Blog, I saw ads from some very high end and reputable companies.  Among the advertisers were some big and well known companies like Stoli Vodka, AT&T, Caddillac, The New York Jets, Aston Martin, Glenlivet.

Having such reputable companies advertising on my site seemed great, but the novelty eventually wore off.

MARTINI MEDIA NETWORK DOESN’T PAY

As a small time web entrepreneur, every expense for my sites comes directly out of my pocket.  Money is tight.  I’m on a shoestring budget and every penny counts.

A while back my blog got so big and had so much traffic that I couldn’t use “cheap” shared hosting solutions anymore and had to get a dedicated server.  That is an expense which in my case is 40X the amount you’d pay for shared hosting.  When I travel to trade shows like the PGA Show, or go to golf travel destinations for course and lifestyle reviews, or just play golf at the local course to test equipment for my reviews, all of those costs come out of my pocket.   Hell, just going to the PGA Show starts me off in the hole a couple grand every year.

So a few years back I decided that in order to keep my sites running I had to collect some ad revenue to offset costs.  I’ve run banner ads, google ads and ads from network providers like Martini Media Network to recoup my costs and keep my sites afloat.

When the sales guy at Martini Media Network was courting me to join them, I was skeptical.  I was going to have to remove my google ads and replace them with the Martini Ad Network’s ads.  I told the guy that without fail every month I got paid by google.  That payment was close to offsetting my dedicated server costs.  The ad guy convinced me it would be worth it to put their ads in, and that later down the road I’d be making a lot more money from the Martini ads than I would from my google ads.

I made the leap of faith, removed my google ads and replaced them with the Martini Network’s ads.  That was August 2009.

Martini Ads Broke My Sites

One day I awoke, poured some coffee and sat down to my computer.  I loaded up my two golf web sites.  They were down.  I thought I’d been hacked. The sites were all messed up, content gone and a rectangle cut off at the top which looked like the bottom of an advertisement.

Martini began running a new campaign with an ad which took over the whole site.  But it didn’t just put a window over the content or push it down or put a page peel.  It broke the whole damn site.  I no doubt lost new members that day and looked like an idiot to anyone who visited my sites that day for the first time.  Who knows, maybe that day Tiger Woods or the PGA or Donald Trump or someone looking to hire my services stopped by to check it out.  I can only guess.   There’s no way to estimate what damage was done.

629,630 total impressions – 527,418 “Paid” impressions
ZERO MONEY.  Not a penny.  Zilch.  $0.00.  Nada.  Zip.
Balance due: $1,002.66.

A couple of months goes by after signing up and I was excited because it appeared that my ad revenue was surpassing my google ads.  Rather than taking my google money and just paying my dedicated server charges with it, I had to go “out of pocket” for the first couple of months before the Martini Network would start with my payments…. or so I thought.

Contacted Martini several times

To date I’ve contacted several different people at Martini Media Network and complained, asked nicely, got on my knees and begged them to settle up their account.  I’ve done this on several occasions was told many times, many ways, by many people that I’d be paid soon.   I wonder what that means?  Within my lifetime?  Within 500 years?

Nothing but excuses

I get excuse after excuse about accounting problems, advertiser problems, moon spot problems, solar flare problems, dog ate the accountant’s homework problems etc.

10.28.09 Martini Network: “payments from June onward have been delayed as we have yet to receive payment from advertisers for these months. It is most likely that we will resolve these accounts within the next month and be able to send your payment in the November billing cycle (you would receive it at the end of November).”

Oh really?  ALL of the advertisers on the network didn’t pay for those months?  What are the odds?  They said I’d get a payment at the end of November?  Well I didn’t get a payment of any kind in November.  Actually I’ve received no payment of any kind, ever.  Not a penny.

Here’s another good Martini excuse:

10.28.09 Martini Network: “We can provide you some more detailed reports shortly- our system is momentarily down.”

Aw shucks their system is momentarily down.  Darn it anyway.  What are the odds?  Maybe they should hire me to get their system back up and running?  All of my systems are running great.

11.23.09 ME: “I’m weary of running any ads from Martini at this point, since I have yet to be paid and I’ve been running your ads for over three months now.  I’ve sent numerous emails into you guys about this yet nobody has even responded.”

11.23.09 Manager, Business Development and Operations: “I am very sorry to hear that my team has been unresponsive.  A number of late advertiser payments forced us to push publisher payment back. You will receive payment for August and most likely September as well at the end of December.”

Yeah, those deadbeats at AT&T, Aston Martin, Stoli, Key West, New York Jets… They all don’t pay I guess.  What a bunch of slackers.  Perhaps they should find some “reputable” advertisers instead of those jokers.

Here’s a good one.  The old “administrative fix” solution.  I believe this one is response #47 in their list of responses to publishers who ask to be paid:

12.03.09 Martini Network “You should have been paid by now so its probably a simple administrative fix…”

I’ve got your administrative fix right here.  It is called sending me a f**king check.

After posting a blog about this on January 12th, I decided that I’d make one more polite inquiry about getting paid.  I called the director of business development on January 21st 2010 and asked one more time to get paid.  Of course I didn’t get through to him directly, I was sent to voice mail.   His response was via email:

01.21.10 12:13:05 PM MST: “Got your VM, in a meeting. will call shortly”

Wow that is one hell of a long meeting. It has been 16 days since he said he said he would “call shortly.”  Hey, maybe the meeting is regarding paying their publishers?  I can only dream.

Filling out their online surveys does nothing

Martini Media Network sends out surveys once in a while, so they can get feedback on “how they are doing.”  I diligently spend my time marking in F F F F F on the report card and then typing in “PAY ME IMMEDIATELY” in the comments field.  Yeah, that really helps.  But at least it feels good.

I did get a response after filling out the card in January though:

01.24.10 Manager, Business Development and Operations: “thanks for your response to the publisher report card. Payment for Aug-Sept impressions is being processed and will be sent out on 2.4. Total is $392.01.  We’ll work on getting you the rest of your payment before the funds have actually cleared from the advertiser.”

01.24.10 ME: I’ll believe it when I see it.  I’ve terminated all my ads through your network due to your non payment.  Here’s a good read for you:

http://www.thegolfspace.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4712:ticking-time-bomb-do-i-lower-the-boom&catid=1:latest&Itemid=480

This one too:

http://www.hookedongolfblog.com/2010/01/12/adtimebomb

That was the last communication.  Oh, perhaps I should mention that as of today, February 6, 2010, I haven’t received a payment, in case you missed that before…

Even tried to track down the founders and executives of the company

I went to the Martini web site and figured I’d find the email to the top brass or some big shot there to complain to.  I found three executives listed there: CEO Skip Brand, Erik Pavelka and founder Ryan Kiskis.  Of course their emails or any way of contacting them is not listed on the Martini web site.  I ran google searches on them all but came up short of finding an email.  I went so far as to add some of them as friends on Facebook so I could tell them about what is going on, but my friend requests were ignored.  I’d hoped to somehow contact them directly and get this settled before I posted this article.

I could REALLY use my $1,002.66 right now

The economic situation has been tough on me over the last year, the last six months especially.  My revenues from my other businesses have all dropped to emergency levels.  It has really hurt me to remove ads from my sites which did pay, and replace them with Martini Media Network ads which don’t pay.  That is like a double dip in the wrong direction.  Like I said in my previous post regarding this, “I find it to be bad business to remove ad campaigns from my web sites which pay and replace them with campaigns which don’t.”

My pals stand behind me, which is nice

4Checker said:

… This really sucks, Tony. You work hard and make this site available for all of us to enjoy, and someone has to take advantage of it like this. I say you set a date in your mind by which they need to make good, and then you swing for the fences that next morning. Bummer, Dude.

January 13, 2010

MashieNiblick said:

… I hope they come through with the promised payment. If not treat the unscrupulous bastards like you do the spammers on TGS!

January 13, 2010

golf4birds said:

… LOWER THE BOOM… THEN LET THE WORLD KNOW NOT TO GET INVOLVED… I know how hard you work at this site, and it is a shame…..

January 13, 2010

Brabers said:

… Just give us the word and we will make sure to mention the crap they are pulling on Golf Talk Radio with Mike & Billy. Let’s get the word out and who knows maybe you will even get paid? Mike & Billy

January 13, 2010

pjcedog said:

… Eviscerate is the word that comes to mind. Castrate may be in order as a second choice.

January 13, 2010

MissionCityGolfTour said:

… Lower the boom for sure. Many of us who are in the PR biz need to know who is out there screwing people.

January 14, 2010

Tony said:

… Thanks for the support my friends. I added a couple more paragraphs…

January 15, 2010

cybervigilante said:

… This is so obviously a scam that it’s painful. I wouldn’t be surprised if the company was based in Nigeria. This is a classic swindler’s trick – endless stringalong excuses and BS. Always “the dog ate my homework” or it’s the other guy’s fault. I was the victim of a conman like this about two years ago, and they’re masters of the keep-you-on-the-hook delay, so I recognize the pitch. Meanwhile these bozos are making money off you. Ditch them now!

January 16, 2010

weszty said:

… Let em have it Tony! Maybe you can borrow the Tiger Beater from Elin and bloody their faces a bit! Failing that you can at least bloody their reputation.

Conclusion: AVOID MARTINI MEDIA NETWORK

Don’t use Martini Media Network.  I don’t recommend them in any way shape or form.  And I recommend you spread the word about these deadbeats.  Maybe by spreading the word about Martini we can help someone out there avoid the problems I’ve had with them.

Tiger Woods may be back to playing golf and missing high fives with Steve Williams very soon.

Rumors are starting to float around that Tiger Woods will make his return to competitive golf in Arizona in two weeks at the Accenture Match Play Championship.  This is where Tiger staged his comeback from knee surgery last year. Apparently he likes to make comebacks in Arizona at the match play.

Tiger has, according to some sources, been spending some time in a sex addiction clinic in Mississippi.

Why this is a good place for TW to come back, if he does

Many theorized that TW would return at the Masters, where security is tight, crowd control is the best, and privacy is easily attainable.  But to come back at the Masters with no warm up would be a tough go for TW to have a chance at winning.

The match play though, is a good option too.  The crowds aren't as big because of the format, and there are chances that TW could have less exposure to the gallery in cases where matches end "x" number of holes early.

Presser?

If these rumors are true, will Tiger stage a presser away from the course to address the media and make any official statements regarding the state of TW?  This is what Geoff Ogilvy (ironically, the winner of the match play event last year) suggests, in order to keep the media circus off the course as much as possible.

Tip o' the hat to Tom Watson for his strong words about Tiger in Dubai this week

I’ll let the cat out of the bag.  Tiger has to take ownership of what he has done. He must get his personal life in order. I think that’s what he’s trying to do. And when he comes back he has to show some humility to the public.

I would come out and I would do an interview with somebody and say, `You know what? I screwed up. And I admit it. I am going to try to change. I am trying to change. I want my wife and family back.

I feel that he has not carried the same stature that other great players that have come along like Jack (Nicklaus), Arnold (Palmer), Byron Nelson, the Hogans, in the sense that there was language and club throwing on the golf course.

You can grant that of a young person that has not been out here for a while. But I think he needs to clean up his act and show the respect for the game that other people before him have shown.

One thing is sure.  If and when Tiger addresses any of this with the media, it will be a finely crafted set of words, generated carefully and precisely by his PR engine.  Those words will be as bullet proof as possible as they know the media will dissect and criticize every syllable.