Having recently made the move from an online publisher to an ad network, a sales VP provides his unique perspective on the state and relevance of networks.
I joined Weather.com in 1999 when ad sales were at $18 million. Eight years later, ad sales top 100 million.
Toward the end of 2007, I felt it was time for a change, but the decision to leave a team and join another is never easy. The pride in what we'd built, friendships developed and routines established were difficult to break from. However, I felt strongly that I wanted a new opportunity, namely one that possessed many of the core characteristics that made my time at Weather.com so successful: a young company with a strong strategy for growth; a culture with the willingness to make structural decisions necessary to be competitive; consistent leadership; a product to meet clients' needs; and generally an environment ready to reach the next level. And so, I joined the online ad network, Undertone Networks.
Having been with Weather.com from the beginning, I encountered many challenges. One exceptional obstacle that the whole industry was facing was building a team and developing young sales professionals, many of whom were only just beginning their careers. To build a great sales organization, you must choose the right people, which requires quick and accurate identification of characteristics and behaviors followed by comprehensive and effective training.
We built our team, and then developed a strong message that our organization could present fluently and consistently. Regardless of where in the country clients were located; they always heard a consistent core message about the benefits and effectiveness of our product.
But there were still more pressing challenges in the early days of online ad selling. Advertisers had a narrow perception of online advertising -- it was either used solely as a direct response vehicle or as a value-add to traditional buys. Essentially, if the advertiser could not measure clicks they weren't interested in the investment. Television and print were still recognized as where brand advertising lived.
Clearly, that has changed. Today, blue chip interactive publishers have managed to reprogram advertisers' mindset. This truth is proven by the state of print advertising today as well as how budgets are shifting from other traditional venues to online.
What ad networks are experiencing today mirrors many of the challenges that interactive publishers experienced in the early years. The perception has been that ad networks are not meant for brand advertising, and are therefore not considered in the early stages of media planning. In this new digital era, interactive publishers are to ad networks what television and print represented in the earlier years to online publisher sites. We brand with chosen interactive publishers and secure reach and low CPMs through networks.
As different ad network models evolve, networks are becoming more versatile in their ability to meet multiple needs for clients. This includes branding, reach, versatile ad products and cutting edge technology. Networks today provide advertisers with effective solutions to spread budgets and maximize exposure with customers. Media buyers see that networks can replace or compliment their buys with publishers and other media platforms. Today, everyone is looking to learn more about ad networks.
Some questions a media professional should always be focusing on are the following:
- What is your business model and how will it help my client be successful?
- How are your advertising products effective?
- How is your service and responsiveness to our campaigns?
- Can you bring us results?
Networks are quickly becoming the final leg of the digital three-legged stool. Portals, interactive publishers and ad networks all have effective and different solutions for advertisers.
The network landscape is crowded. Buyers and planners don't have the time or desire to engage with all of them. Only those sales organizations that can effectively hire, develop and retain the best talent will find success (sound familiar?).
Ad networks must focus on developing sales organizations that can engage clients in smart conversations. Successful networks, like publishers before them, must develop a strategy and execute that strategy consistently.
The ad networks sales professionals are the Jet Fighter Pilots of today's ad sales landscape. They must possess quick thinking, flawless execution, attention to detail and most importantly, the ability to create a winning solution for their clients.
Networks will continue to evolve at a fast pace. Many will fail, and many will consolidate. I predict there will be a tipping point where two sectors of networks exist -- a core of long-tail, low CPM networks; and more branded shorter tail networks with a deeper inventory of publishers. There will be room for both models to co-exist.
Networks will be here for the long haul; they are becoming firmly entrenched for the simple reason that they are effective.
Peter Green is senior vice president, sales, Undertone Networks. Read full bio.