What do online advertising networks offer the marketer? Diane Charton of Acceleration Media explains the benefits and downfalls.
Many clients are asking us about ad networks – what they are, what benefits they offer and when best to make use of them. As with any media buy, the benefits of networks need to be evaluated and matched against the objectives of the marketer. Online advertising networks can be powerful tools, provided that they're used wisely as part of a holistic online marketing strategy.
An online ad network is a company that buys advertising inventory from a number of publishers and resells it to clients at a low price. This inventory generally comprises ad space with lower tier websites and lower trafficked, less visible sections of the larger portals. Advertisers can usually select a category or run ads blindly across the entire network.
The more credible networks now offer high-quality inventory and also give advertisers the ability to track return on investment (ROI) and to take advantage of multiple targeting options including demographics, site genre, geography, observed behaviour and day part. Examples of established international online ad networks include BurstMedia, FastClick, Tribal Fusion, Advertising.com, BlueLithium, ValueClick and Adlink.
These ad networks allow advertisers to broaden their reach cost-effectively and efficiently, but with the drawback that advertisers have less control over where their ads will appear. Marketers need to be vigilant about their brands in an online environment where they must give up a degree of control. Ad networks can be particularly challenging in this context for marketers who want to keep tabs on where their advertising appears.
Advertisers must investigate a network's site acceptance policy to ensure that it excludes the possibility of their ads ending up in contexts that could damage the brand - for example, sites containing racist or pornographic material, or which violate copyright laws.
Advertisers need to be aware that many networks still mostly offer remnant inventory that provides inconsistent, unpredictable traffic and delivery. They should seek out networks that offer a transparent view of the publishers and inventory they work with, who are able to provide a range of targeting options, and can provide the tools to determine where, when and which ad will be served based on real-time performance.
It is vital for advertisers not to buy blind to ensure that their brand is placed in the right type of environment. One should always know where and when the ad is running, so it is important never to buy inventory from a network that doesn’t disclose its sites and placements to its clients. It may sound obvious, but quality networks are defined by the quality of the sites they work with. The quality of placements needs to be evaluated against overall marketing objectives when choosing an ad network.
As with any online campaign, it is important to decide upfront what the objectives are for your campaign before choosing an ad network. Ad Networks allow high reach, high volumes at a low cost without the niche targeting of specific placement buying. They are not right for every client and every campaign. They are simply another tactic to consider. It is important to tie your use of ad networks back to your broader online marketing strategy, to ensure that you are getting an optimum mixture of reach and focus from your online budget.