@ EconAds: A Good Time To Start An Ad Network? Of Course It Is
This story was written by David Kaplan.
Another day, another company starts an ad network. Peter Horan, CEO of Goodmail Systems (and former CEO, IAC (NSDQ: IACI) Media & Advertising) asked a panel of online ad executives at paidContent parent ContentNext's EconAds Seminar whether there is a glut.
-- A good time to start an ad net?: Now's as good a time as any to start an ad network business, several panelists said. It's like starting an Italian restaurant in New York. The good ones will thrive. Starting any business because of the exit is already flawed, said Russ Fradin, who admitted that it might sound disenguous since selling his. Mike Walrath, SVP, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) Advertiser Marketplace Group; former CEO, Right Media: "We will see more ad nets, ad agencies and publishers will start to morph their businesses according to that model.
-- Pork bellies vs. diamonds redux: The panel also dealt with the "pork bellies" complaint about commoditizing inventory. Michael Rubenstein, director, Ad Exchange, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) (former VP & GM, DoubleClick) reiterated his "diamonds" analogy as a response to the charge that ad networks devalues inventory by commoditizing it. Cyril Zimmermann, CEO of Hi-Media. "If you have a big network, you have an alternative between the premium placement offered by verticals and the automated sales supplied by technology" or remnant networks.
-- Anonymous: Fradin: If you look at the history of performance-based ad nets, companies came along and offered to handle the unsold ads anonymouslyWe won't tell anyone it's for your siteso it wouldn't commoditize their inventory and lower its value. There are some unscrupulous ad nets out there. The ones who don't do it anonymouslythey're the ones causing this "pork bellies" fear.
By David Kaplan