4. What is your biggest fear about relying on ad networks for the placement of your ads? How have you tackled this?

Keith Pieper, director of performance media at Universal McCann, on online campaigns for client Microsoft:
One of our primary concerns is consistency in performance. Like any good performance-based buy, we'll buy a little from every network to spread our risk then reallocate funds to the ones that perform best.

Valerie Constable, director of media at Kaiser Permanente:
Inappropriate content. We site-select and we have guidelines we provide, but the reality is with the way networks are set-up, we don't have as much control as we'd like.

Katelyn Himes, manager of online marketing for La Quinta Inns & Suites:
Our biggest fear is conversion duplication across networks. If you are using multiple networks, you need to make sure you have a mechanism for de-duping conversions whether it is through an ad server or another method. Also, creative wear-out. With so many impressions served, you have to be careful not to become the advertiser that is considered annoying. Carefully plan your creative variations and frequency caps.

Sean X Cummings, director of marketing for Ask.com:
As with UGC, there is a much higher degree of uncertainty of the content you will be placed next to. Ignore it. Many clients do knee-jerk reactions to a single ad placement; they fear some overly conservative person will get offended by the content it is next to. You are not endorsing that content, and it will always be in the vast minority of placements. Online is not offline where there is an implied endorsement because it is almost always a branded property. When only one in 10,000 people clicks on an ad, and only a moderately better proportion see it and come to your site, it is too transient to get worked up about. If you do, you'll spend your entire time justifying the people barking at the moon and not doing your real job. If you are too fearful then just stay in your little bubble on branded sites, and watch me outperform you.

Kyle Sherwin, media director at Sony BMG:
Invisible networks may be a suitable fit for credit card companies that want to attract huge audiences. We are a micro marketer and need to know where every penny goes. So we're looking at networks with specified points of interest for us.

Correy Honza, director of internet marketing for Quiznos:
Are they able to deliver the impressions they promise? For us, it's about dollars and cents and reach.

Dave Chase, CMO for AltusAlliance:
We only work with transparent ad networks and ones that refuse to use pop-up ads.

Katie McCormick, web manager at Revlon:
Our biggest issue is the use of celebrity sites because we don't want our celebrity models (for example, Halle Berry) to appear next to a competitor's talent in an editorial mention and confuse consumers.

Bill Daley, senior manager, interactive marketing for Universal Orlando Resort:
Our biggest fear would be complaints by consumers if they saw one of our ads on a site that is controversial or inappropriate. Over the years I can only remember this happening once.