Work with the right partners

While reading the latest article in Advertising Age that highlights the negative aspects of a network relationship for publishers, I continue to wonder who these ad networks are.  YES, I have experience in various ad networks and YES I have ownership in one such network, so I am somewhat biased.  However, an introductory line such as: “In typical scenario, a $5 CPM can end up netting a publisher $1” is misleading.

In all fairness, as the article goes on, it refers to the ad dollar from the client level, citing expenses for the agency, data provider , ad exchange and ad network.  Of course, they also like to cite the well-known publishers such as CBS, ESPN, Time Inc.,  and Turner that have publicly announced that they have discontinued their network relationships.

For publishers such as CBS, they have the sales teams and resources to sit on inventory, enter into a contract with DoubleClick for DART for Publishers and have someone dedicated to running the system, whereas for most publishers there are limited resources at their disposal, and one key question is, where can you generate the necessary revenue while keeping expenses down?

Publishers should absolutely value their traffic and also choose their network partners wisely. As a standard practice, website publishers usually receive 50% of the revenue generated by their ad network partner.  While the article speaks to cutting the ad dollar from the point of origination, it should be noted that the actual ad network is only one step, and in general some parties (such as the agency) are probably going to be a part of any advertising deal, and are therefore unavoidable. All networks are not alike, and it is important for publishers to ask difficult questions and monitor their partners. However, if you are a publisher contemplating doing everything yourself, have a close look at the costs and effort required to sell 100% of your inventory.