Rethinking Ad Networks

By | September 12, 2008

Demand for ad networks is weakening and some believe that’s because of the sputtering economy.

But it’s also exposing them for what they are: weak connectors between ads and publishers and publishers and consumers.

The advertisers lose because ad networks train them that reach is the most important thing when it’s really about being in the right place at the right time with engaging media (the basis for Federated Media). Publishers lose because when lame ads appear in their space next to otherwise good content, it tells consumers they don’t care about them (yes, you Facebook).

And consumers lose because they can’t find what they’re looking for in a sea of possibilities.

Don’t think behavioral targeting is going to come to the rescue of ad networks either, which, in its current form, is just a better way to put bad ads in front of frustrated consumers (although it could be hugely beneficial – and well received – if the ad paradigm was different).

Lesson: We need to think about ads from the perspective of the user. Not because that would be a nice thing to do, but because “value has shifted to the edge.”

Think deeply about what’s being said in this research note from the Havas Media Lab:

“The context connected consumers create, share, and trade is, in a very real [way], a powerful substitute for orthodox advertising. Who believes a brand’s elaborate web of often conflicting messages, when ten thousand connected consumers agree that the company behind the brand sucks? Advertisers must stop fighting user-generated context with traditional ads, and learn to leverage it to explode the possibilities for seeding and joining discussions.”

Read the whole note to understand exactly what is meant by “user-generated context” (as opposed to “content”), but I think the point is pretty clear. Consumers own this new connected environment. Ads have to – must – get aligned with that context.

Ads that can skillfully plug into the context that consumers have created will, of course, benefit from efficient distribution via networks. So why not do it and reap the rewards?

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  • http://www.theinternetisjustafad.com Matt Mantey

    Thought you might appreciate my simplistic take on ad networks.

    http://mantey.typepad.com/theinternetisafad/200…

    • http://brooksjordan.name brooksjordan

      @Matt, so you think all the creative work for display ads will be done by the ad networks?

      I think they're going to have a difficult time doing it well enough to truly draw people to the ads and into a larger experience.

      • http://www.theinternetisjustafad.com Matt Mantey

        By current design, no. Most networks have focused on the arb opportunity with the media only. Technology facilitates this easy money, so why work hard. Guys like batelle at federated and Matt Freeman at GoFish are more advertiser and publisher-focused bringing richer, deeper creative and charging for it. I think it's a way to evolve the ad network – message from them is, we know your user and media they consume, let us be on the hook for the creative too. I think it's the only growth/differentiation path.

  • http://garyware.blogspot.com Gary

    I think you make a good point here. Advertisers are using the same tone that they use in Adwords, and it's doing nothing but polluting the space.

    Your quote “We need to think about ads from the perspective of the user.” is dead on; we are in the world where the user is in control, and if we don't take the time to engage the user in a then everyone loses.

    • http://brooksjordan.name brooksjordan

      Would love to hear about it if you see an ad that does engage you, Gary.