Ad networks need to decide whether they work for publishers or advertisers

A report appearing in Editor & Publisher concerns another treatise on Ad Networks, this one emanating from Northwestern’s Media Management Center, called “Online Ad Networks: Disruption – and Opportunity – for Media Business.” Similar to the Bain report for the IAB that caused a stir last year, the Northwestern report carries a simple message: leash your ad networks. They can be great companions, but watch what you put in front of them because they will eat until they die.

The nub of the matter is an awkward paragraph deep in the report: “…the publisher’s goal is simple: make the most money possible from an ad. The network has the very same goal – for itself. And the advertiser, naturally, wants to reach a potential customer for the lowest cost possible.” The awkwardness derives from the fact that a short time ago, maybe less than six or seven years, the paragraph would have read this way: ”…the publisher’s goal is simple: make the most money possible from an ad. And the advertiser, naturally, wants to reach a potential customer for the lowest cost possible.” Now, there’s this bit in the middle about the ad network, which is crowding around the bowl, scarfing down food “for itself.”

Unfortunately, three’s a crowd, and everybody’s feeling it. Left alone on a desert island one of these three players – publisher, network or advertiser - is going to eventually get it in the neck. And you can guess which one it will be. 

Networks can’t be in business for themselves and survive: they have no proprietary audience or customers. They have to work in the interest of one constituency or the other, publisher or advertiser. If it’s the advertiser, great; bad luck for the agencies - already questioning who’s their friend and who’s their frenemy - though can ad networks become proficient across media platforms? If not, better for networks to serve Internet publishers for the reason that it results in expertise versus other media and aligns them with the object of all media desires, the audience. In that case, not ad networks, but publisher networks. We like that version here at Burst.

But, whichever, each ad network must decide whom it serves. Just pick one. Either choice gets us on our way and helps remove a significant barrier to establishing the value of online media for both buyers and sellers.

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