Five things you need to know... Ad networks

The ad network market in APAC is set to grow
There are many international ad networks and ad representation firms entering the market in Asia. Once publishers have the tools to manage working with multiple ad networks more effectively, the marketplace is only going to continue to grow. These new network players will bring with them the latest technologies such as behavioral targeting and audience profiling to improve campaign performance for publishers and advertisers. 

Ad networks are now able to buy across geographies easily, either for reaching local eyeballs that are visiting foreign sites, or by targeting overseas eyeballs for advertisers that want to reach an audience beyond their local market. This will become seamless for ad networks as, for the first time, they have access to a marketplace where they can tap into a large pool of global inventory.

How ad networks are different from media reps
The media reps and ad networks sit side by side - the media reps typically sell more premium inventory for publishers, whereas ad networks can complement them by monetising the non-guaranteed portion of a publisher’s inventory. The way they sell will also be quite different. A premium sales channel would deliver more custom ad formats, maximising the branding effect and user interaction, whereas the non-guaranteed inventory will be sold more to increase reach or target specific reach.


How ad networks differentiate themselves
Some ad networks specialise in their specific home countries and have good access to inventory in their local market only. They differentiate themselves from each other by having local teams and expertise in place in their home markets. Some also specialise in different advertiser segments, such as those that do global and regional media buys, those that do B2B campaigns only, or those that build networks in particular content categories (e.g. technology or business). When the international ad networks start to enter the market, technology will also be an important differentiator for them.


Why audience-based targeting has not been popular
Audience-based targeting has not been popular because historically there hasn’t been a marketplace which can aggregate a large enough pool of inventory for buyers to target the specific eyeballs and not enough efficient tools in the region for buyers to do this effectively. But now ad networks have access to a larger pool of inventory and advertisers are able to launch retargeting campaigns, targeting specific users with the right message at the right time. For the first time the reach is available to make retargeting campaigns effective and efficient.

Greater transparency from ad networks
The most successful ad networks are those that allow advertisers specifically to target inventory and audiences, who let publishers exclude certain ads, and who can pinpoint when a given ad will run. With more ad networks entering the market publishers and advertisers will have access to enhanced targeting, reporting and campaign performance.