VideoEgg

The New Roles of Publishers and Ad Networks

By blog_editor on Mar. 20 2008

People working in the digital marketing space have a couple of things to be happy about in 2008. First, we are finally seeing a decent amount of TV dollars moving online - something that took much longer than it should have, and wasn't easy. Second, if our economy is heading into a recession, every study shows that digital marketing will feel the pinch less than the rest of the advertising industry. This didn't happen by luck, it happened because smart media publishers and ad networks have stepped up to the plate and taken on new roles that traditionally belonged to media agencies, which simply couldn't adapt fast enough.

A recent joint study published by IAB / Booz Allen Hamilton showed that savvy media publishers and ad networks are consistently showing five major behaviors, which I define as five major roles. Below are those roles and my take on them:

1. Invest in ongoing marketer education: Fully 87% of media companies find the need for their ad sales team to educate marketers and agencies “important” or “very important”. As a result, 70% plan to increase their investment in education capabilities by 2010.

*This is critical. The social media explosion is evolving faster than the agencies can educate their staff. Effective campaigns need to be holistic by design. It is on the shoulders of publishers and ad networks to showcase their offerings in the proper context - why and how they fit into the larger scene.

2. Provide consultative services to key clients: Almost all digital leaders already provide agency-like services to many of their marketer clients.

*While I totally agree that we need to consult with clients, I would go beyond "key" clients and say every client. For example take the growing popularity of brands building custom applications for Facebook. Agencies and brands have very little insight into user behavior and how to promote their application. Third-party applications are still less than a year old, and there is no Comscore or NetRatings equivalent to guide their decisions. If we didn't consult with brands they would essentially be shooting in the dark, or buying the concept and hoping for success... which brings us to the next point below.

3. Focus on the metrics that matter most: Leaders understand what marketers want to measure—including reach, engagement, action, and ROI—and they are improving their ability to collect and analyze consumer data. Leaders are more likely to provide performance marketing services and lead generation.

*This is why we continually need to expand our services in today's marketplace. The success metrics of three years ago are not the success metrics of today, at least not exactly. Sure ROI has been around forever, but what defines ROI today is different, by expanding our services we are enabling brands to choose the option that is best for their metrics.

4. Translate media value into marketer ROI: Leaders are more likely to have ROI metrics than other media companies. Most have the ability to tie media behavior to sales.

*At VideoEgg, we call this accountability. I'll say it again - accountability. One media planner I spoke with said his biggest challenge is figuring out how to bring direct response metrics to his brand marketing. We recently introduced our AdFrames offering to address this exact challenge. AdFrames is a pay-per-engagement model for brand marketers. This is a huge step in bridging the gap between direct response and brand marketing.

5. Know what drives consumer behavior: Digital leaders are developing the ability to incorporate consumer insights into marketer's predictive models at a faster pace than non-leaders.

This one actually encompasses the previous four and probably should have been titled "Know what drives your user's behavior as well as consumer behavior in the market." Insight into consumer behavior doesn't just come from in-house data or third party data published a month behind real time. Publishers and ad networks can't get caught up in their own bubble or they will end up as stale as the agencies they've had to step up for. By understanding the big picture combined with in-house learnings we can continue to improve the performance of campaigns. Every publisher and ad network is, and should be, under the gun to develop and adjust their offering according to changes in user behavior - and fast.

Like with any industry the companies that do the best in ours are the ones that remain malleable enough to change with the market, and humble enough to realize when they're not. Many agencies are making unprecedented restructuring efforts to adapt the new digital landscape by breaking down silos, combining budgets, committing to more education, and rethinking their success metrics. But for the next few years at least, its up to publishers and ad networks to understand the market, explain the market, and keep those budgets moving online.

Post by Eric Klotz
Director of Creative Development