Without ad networks, marketing on the web would be an arduous and time-consuming process. Vendors would have to put every deal together themselves and sift through countless web pages in order to place ads in the right places instead of using an already established network that would easily push ads out to people all across the globe.
Ad networks are an indispensable part of the digital age. But given all the pluses they provide, if you asked most vendors for an opinion on them, the chances of a favorable reception are highly unlikely.
The glut of low-quality ad networks push out click bait ads with eye-catching images and sensational headlines. With ridiculous teases like “You Won’t Believe Who’s Related to Abraham Lincoln,” or “Lose Weight Quick Using this One Weird Trick,” convenience alone can no longer sell an ad network to vendors.
This content doesn’t just look bad — it’s also terribly ineffective. Sure, these displays may rack up a lot of clicks, but the majority of those visits don’t amount to much. They simply become bounces, failing to lead to any sort of conversion or even any prolonged engagement. And you can bet these ads do next to nothing for a vendor’s brand reputation.
And to top it off, many traditional ad networks handle customer and revenue data in a way that is opaque at best (and downright careless at worst). Factor all those negatives in, and it’s hard to blame vendors for not holding positive opinions of these avenues.
But that doesn’t mean ad networks are a broken system. Rather than bash the system for what it is, we need to look for unorthodox methods of traditional networking to show what it can be.
Embrace the Non-Traditional Future
Traditional ad networks — like landline telephones — were once useful tools. However, both are now struggling to make themselves useful to the modern consumer. For advertising online to be effective again, it needs to change. The same ads on the same pages in the same positions just don’t to cut it — not only for marketers, but also for buyers.
Nontraditional ads target places that other advertising hasn’t penetrated yet, meaning there’s an untapped resource, untainted by traditional ad networks. And they also offer a level of transparency that most traditional networks lack. This means vendors can not only keep their data, but they can also fully envision how it’s being used to market to consumers.
While some companies’ solutions have been known to make ads more annoying once again — obstructing a user’s experience to put an ad front and center — nontraditional ad networks offer a more elegant, tailored solution.
Ads on the web shouldn’t be a nuisance people put up with; they should be an enticement. And nontraditional networks are the path to making that happen.
A lot of damage has been done to the reputation of ad networks, but nontraditional ads could undo this damage. But here are three values nontraditional ad networks can bring marketers:
1. Banner Embrace
With traditional web ads, users long ago learned to view them as nuisances and scrolled right past them. This behavior has even been given its own name: banner blindness.
Whether your goal is a sale, a sign-up, or another type of engagement, an ad network emphasizes quality over quantity. This shift in focus will actually engage surfers instead of just giving them something to ignore.
Plus, nontraditional ads allow you to explicitly target people who would be interested in your product. Marketers won’t just be able to eliminate the clutter caused by a barrage of ads; they can increase the likelihood of real engagement from users.
2. Revitalized ROI
While traditional ad networks might offer a cheaper upfront cost, the return you’ll get on your investment is much less of a sure thing. If your ads aren’t being clicked, it doesn’t matter how little you’re paying — you’re still wasting money.
Nontraditional ad services usually make deals with higher profile websites and publisher-specific networks. Rather than rely on a numbers game, features like in-image advertising offer better ways to ensure your ads reach people actually interested in what you have to sell.
3. Brand Boost
One of the beauties of modern advertising is how much control it gives you. With digital advertising, you can control the story of your brand from top to bottom. Not only do you control the content, but you can also target who sees your ads — from basic information like location, age, and gender, to more advanced data, like interests and personality traits.
It will be a long time before we can put traditional ad networks behind us. But with effectiveness that is — on a good day — suspect, nontraditional ads clearly mark the way forward for online advertising.
Promote the benefits of nontraditional ad networks by revitalizing digital advertising’s tarnished reputation. It’ll ensure that the next time a vendor encounters your network, he won’t be so quick to disregard you.
