While consolidation in media industries typically means a shift in power to sellers, the ad network's M&A activity can benefit smart buyers. As media companies such as Yahoo, AOL and Google certainly gain a strategic advantage by adding more network service offerings under a single umbrella, buyers can also profit from the agglomeration of network opportunities. Now buyers have the opportunity to buy search, premium display advertising, sponsorship opportunities, behavioral targeting and performance-based inventory at a single vendor. The entire buying process has the potential to be greatly simplified. As Eric Druckenmiller, media director at entertainment ad agency Deep Focus, reiterated recently "Navigating [the ad network space] is frustrating. The lack of differentiation makes you want to walk away from ad network solutions. Now the landscape is starting to gel a bit."

Consolidation not only means that the buying process can become more streamlined, but also that buyers can improve their relationships with the major sellers. The trend towards consolidation allows agencies and buyers to justify bigger buys with companies like AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft and Google. As Rudy Grahn, director of analytics at media buying shop Optimedia explains, "The more business you do with Yahoo, the better the deal and better the relationship." Buyers would much rather achieve scale and improve performance from the remnant inventory of a few premium, branded sites than from thousands of smaller sites.