Ad networks, which eMarketer defines as brokers who are the middlemen in between Web site publishers and advertisers, are used primarily because of efficiency, reach and targeting benefits, according to a study conducted by Collective Media.
In 2009, 72 percent of U.S. agencies and advertisers who responded to the survey selected efficiency as the top reason for using ad networks, while 68 percent chose reach, 61 percent chose targeting and 46 percent selected optimization.
Another 6 percent chose in-stream video, while 2 percent chose sponsorships and 5 percent selected other primary reasons for utilizing ad networks.
The 2009 results were from a survey format that allowed respondents to select multiple answers, while the 2008 survey only allowed one answer.
In 2008, 30 percent chose efficiency as the primary reason for using ad networks, 28 percent selected targeting, 26 percent chose reach, 12 percent selected optimization, 2 percent chose sponsorships, 5 percent selected other reasons and 0 percent chose in-stream video.
The Collective Media study shows that 89 percent of U.S. agencies and advertisers plan to work with ad networks in 2009, compared to 84 percent who said they actually worked with ad networks in 2008.
In 2009, 32 percent of respondents said they will spend 6 percent to 15 percent of their budgets on ad networks, while 24 percent said they will spend 16 percent to 30 percent of their budgets on ad networks.
Twenty-one percent said they plan on spending 1 percent to 5 percent of their budgets on ad networks in 2009, while 10 percent said they will spend none of their budget on ad networks this year.
Lack of transparency as to what sites are used (58 percent), lack of control as to the position of their ads (46 percent), questions of editorial quality (42 percent) and audience duplication (36 percent) were reasons for respondents who limited their use of ad networks, or chose not to use them altogether.
Source:
Network
