Not every dot-com is looking to spread its ad dollars everywhere from billboards to the back of Evander Holyfield’s trunks. FineArtLease.com, which officially launched Dec. 1, is looking to target corporate entities and high-income individuals through a focused marketing campaign.
“We don’t need to have our name on the side of the bus,” said Ian Peck, CEO of FineArtLease.com, New York. “We are not a mass market gig. We’re not expecting a million hits a day.”
Instead, the site began a one-year, $4 million ad campaign this month with print ads in publications that target consumers a little heavier in the wallet, such as Forbes, Wired and The New York Times Magazine.
The site, which allows users to lease paintings valued up to $750,000 from artists such as Chagall and Renoir, has yet to proceed with its online marketing campaign. However, partnerships with sites targeting those with high discretionary incomes or corporate funding are in negotiations, according to Peck.
“We want to align ourselves with up-market sites rather than linking with AOL. We want our traffic weeded out a bit,” he said.
Prospective partner sites include Bloomberg, Salon.com and the Economist. Sachs and Rosen, New York, is handling the ad campaign.
At least one analyst feels marketing with attitude might be perfect for this site. “Throwing their ads on Yahoo or AOL or in the New York Post isn’t where they want to be. They want to create an image by staying within the right environment,” said Sam Alfsted, editor of eMarketer.com, New York. “This group of customers would want to deal with someone exclusive, someone who’s a little haughty. If they spend their money in the right places – it’s an old rule, but the best rule – they should be able to saturate the high-end market with a $4 million ad campaign.”
Consumers can search FineArt- Lease.com by artist, subject matter, period, genre, region, size or price. The cost is 15 percent of the total retail value per year. This includes insurance underwritten by Lloyds of London.
As many as 700 works will soon be available on the site. Interested parties can lease the works for three months to 10 years. Customers can also lease-to-own the works by paying in installments.
The site, which was developed by Nascent State, New York, will also include sculpture and decorative arts in the near future.
