Two to Tango: Publishers & Ad Networks

Introduction

It may only take two to tango, but when it comes to pulling off the challenging footwork of the ad network dance there are three distinct parties involved: advertisers, networks and publishers. Yet too often, when it comes to discussing this intricate choreography, the focus falls on the advertisers and the ad networks, as though publishers are merely an afterthought -- the accompaniment, if you will -- that allows the dynamic between the advertisers and ad networks to happen.

Well, not this piece. This article is dedicated to all the publishers out there, without whom the whole ad network equation never equals anything but nil. We'll examine what's in it for the publishers and try to provide salient feedback and useful advice on how to work more effectively with ad networks-- advice that may prove equally as valuable to the networks themselves, for much of it comes from industry leaders in the ad network business.

To get to the bottom of the often precarious relationship between ad networks and publishers, we pick the brains of industry leaders from both sides of the equation, including:

Tim Vanderhook, CEO of SpecificMEDIA -- Ad Network
Christopher Batty, Sales Director of Gawker Media -- Publisher
John Rogers, Director of Publisher Services for Advertising.com -- Ad Network
Mark Westlake, Senior VP of Sales for About.com -- Publisher
Jarvis Coffin, President of BURST! Media -- Ad network
Doug Weaver, President of Upstream Group -- Consultant to Ad Networks & Publishers

Here's what they have to say regarding: