6 Things Smart Ad Networks Should Do to Ensure Success in 2009

By Rob Rasko
President and COO, CPX Interactive

Despite a seeming barrage of predictions to the contrary, ad networks have emerged as essential players in the online ad space. With unprecedented access to advertisers, publishers and agencies, all three parties seek out our industry relationships and expertise (though sometimes begrudgingly) to help them make their online campaigns successful.

While it would be easy for ad networks to sit back on the successes of the past few years, I believe that this is the perfect time for ad networks to challenge ourselves to rise to the next level of innovation and collaboration with others in the industry. We should also take the opportunity to focus on the level of service we provide for our advertisers and publishers.

As I think about the most important things that my company (and other ad networks) can do to ensure success in 2009, six key factors come to mind:

1. PROVIDE PRODUCT VARIETY
2. COMMUNICATE THE FINANCIAL VALUE OF AD NETWORKS
3. MAKE BEST PRACTICES A PRIORITY
4. PRACTICE DUE DILIGENCE WITH PUBLISHERS
5. INITIATE SYNERGY WITHIN THE ONLINE ADVERTISING SPACE
6. ESTABLISH TRUST AMONG ADVERTISERS

PROVIDE PRODUCT VARIETY - In the simplest form, ad networks have two goals: we help publishers monetize their inventory and we help advertisers find the best placements for their ads. This oversimplification, however, does not do justice to the variety of kinds of advertisers and publishers there are, nor to the specific needs they all bring to the table. The ability to service every type of publisher, for example, from the largest recognizable brands to small niche site, is crucial to offering strong, diverse inventory choices to advertisers. A single network must understand and service publishers of all tiers in order to help them monetize 100% of their inventory from the first impression on the homepage to the last impression on the deepest page of their site. For an ad network to grow and compete in the coming year, it must learn to effectively serve every tier of advertiser and publisher from top to bottom, and build product offerings to facilitate that goal.

COMMUNICATE THE FINANCIAL VALUE OF AD NETWORKS - A valuable service is only as good as the provider’s ability to communicate its value to customers. In an effort to be all things to all people, I sometimes think that ad networks have forgotten how to pitch their bottom line value to their partners:

Publishers who engage ad networks conserve time and resources that would otherwise be expended on hiring, training and managing inside sales staff. They are able to use this time, instead, to develop and improve their content so that they can better engage their audiences.

Likewise, advertisers who use ad networks streamline their marketing dollars; enjoying the benefit of scalability that comes with large packaged media buys, and the benefit of audience targeting that comes with technology.

Networks that are best able to articulate these points to advertisers and publishers will pull ahead of the competition in 2009.

MAKE BEST PRACTICES A PRIORITY – When it comes to online advertising, the word ‘transparency’ can take on many meanings. It is easy to get stuck in a finger-pointing match, where each side derides the other’s meaning. Standing in between advertisers and publishers, an ad network can find itself inadvertently ‘choosing sides.’ The bottom line, however, is that only a truly independent network can be best committed to practices that assist all parties in creating the proper experience in online media. Smart ad networks will be mindful of the responsibility that their position bestows on them. As President of CPX Interactive, I spend quite a bit of time attending conferences to determine how we can best regulate our industry and protect the brands we serve, while continuing to support the industries’ freedoms. Ultimately, it is all about moving forward, and continually finding new ways to monitor publisher content, and provide advertisers with better brand protection.

PRACTICE DUE DILIGENCE WITH PUBLISHERS – As an ad network, your publisher’s content is your content. Getting to know your publishers and staying on top of their website content is a matter of responsibility and ethics, as well as good business practices. At CPX, all sites are evaluated and assigned a rating of G, PG or PG-13, similar to that of the MPAA rating system. Websites that give users the right to create their own content are assigned an N/A rating and monitored more closely. CPX Interactive does not allow X rated content into its network of publishers. We have an internal re-check process to be sure that the quality and category of content a publisher presented in the beginning remains consistent over time. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure, as any smart ad network knows that even a one-time slip can cause a mountain of headaches all around.

INITIATE SYNERGY WITHIN THE ONLINE ADVERTISING SPACE- As the landscape of the online advertising industry continues to evolve, participants continue to clamor for education and thought leadership. With their connections to advertisers, publishers and agencies, ad networks are in the perfect position to take the lead in creating a more supportive and cohesive industry that can benefit all of us.

As the industry consolidates, strong partnerships will be formed. In the not so distant future, there will be more support and camaraderie in the online ad space which can only help to strengthen the industry as a whole. Smart ad networks will position themselves at the forefront of that process.

ESTABLISH TRUST AMONG ADVERTISERS – Ever ask yourself why television ad revenue is 10 times higher than Internet ad revenue? We do. And we think we know the answer. Advertisers know television. They are comfortable with it because they understand all of the moving pieces, even if their ROI falls short of what it could be in the more ‘inconsistent’ new medium that is online. Building trust in online advertising comes down to consistent results. As an ad network we grade our publishers so that we can tell advertisers where their ads will be displayed, and advertisers depend on us to give them accurate information. If an ad network labels their publishers too liberally, the advertisers will disappear and the economies of scale will break down. It is essential for networks and publishers to work together to create as much honest visibility as possible in the channel. This should be a major initiative of any ad network looking to occupy a top tier position. One thing we can never afford to do is to lose the confidence of advertisers. If you think winning trust is hard, try winning it back after it has been lost.