Myth 4: No good for branding
Myth #4: You can't use an ad network for branding.
Reality: Marketers have traditionally used ad networks for inexpensive, efficient lead generation. Brand-oriented marketers have, for the most part, eschewed the networks to buy more premium inventory on a CPM basis. However, there is a way to intelligently use the ad networks, particularly the behavioral networks, as a complementary branding vehicle. Sophisticated online advertisers understand they need to build diverse media portfolios. Those that do, tend to focus their optimization efforts on creative and media optimization. Yet there is a third optimization metric advertisers need to consider: delivery.
Marketers are beginning to understand that they need to optimize their frequency distribution, and an effective way to do that is through the ad networks. The behavioral networks, especially, can be used to attain a better frequency distribution. In most media campaigns, the largest group of the target audience is typically exposed to one impression per user. The second largest group is often exposed to upwards of 10 impressions per user. Assuming the sweet spot for most advertisers is a frequency of three to 10 impressions per user, the goal of the advertiser should be to increase the percentage of the target audience that sits within that sweet spot. The networks are an efficient channel to gain additional exposure to the target audience and normalize the frequency distribution.
