Ad networks galore!

I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the online advertising space. After all, I've been dedicating >40 hours/ week on it for the past 3 years of my life. I have a passion for it, I believe in it, and I love the agency I work for and the clients I work on.

One thing that has been an ever-increasing point of frustration is the number of ad networks in the space. It has been rumored that there are over 300 ad networks. That's a lot to keep track of!

I've been working with a more junior member to the digital advertising space who is keeping me honest about what differentiates one ad network from another. Explaining the differences to someone else really helps put things into perspective while making it even more overwhelming. We started putting together a master checklist of all the offerings we can think of on a huge piece board. We are marking down everything from targeting to inventory to who has included rich media partners!

One thing that I thought was cool is that Undertone Networks visited our agency last week and gave us a relatively unbiased overview of ad networks. Kudos to a company that knows it's competitors and sets out to be a resource. I think we are lucky in Minneapolis to have some great reps calling on our territory that understand agency demands and are always there for us and our clients. You know who you are!

I also feel that as of late, the trades are really focusing on helping media buyers make sense of this space.

Advertising Age
iMediaConnection

Yours truly has even been quoted about Vertical Nets on Clickz.

I've mentioned many times before that I love that internet marketing keeps me on my toes so the ad networks space can be no exception!