Third of display ad spend now goes on networks- research

Conducted by Econsultancy, and sponsored by the Rubicon Project, the research reveals that 70% of online advertisers and their agencies work with three online advertising networks or more.

This includes 23% of advertisers who use between five and ten ad networks.  

Almost half (46%) the advertisers surveyed say they are working with more ad networks than a year ago, and a similar proportion (42%) are planning to increase their use of online ad networks.

The research, which questioned over 250 advertisers and agencies involved with media planning and buying, also reveals that an average of 31% of online display advertising budget is spent on online advertising networks.

44% of those surveyed say the proportion of budget spent on ad networks has gone up in the past year.

Jay Stevens, Vice President and General Manager, International of the Rubicon Project said: “This data demonstrates how the UK’s digital media industry is maturing, with advertisers and agencies increasingly relying on online advertising networks to give them the reach and audience they are looking for, across a range of pricing models which work for both brand and performance-based campaigns.

"There are many advantages for advertisers working with ad networks, especially when you consider recent technical innovations in areas such as frequency capping and targeting and hence we see networks on so many media plans.”

When comparing online advertising networks, advertisers cite 'audience' (55%) as the most important criterion for judging an online ad network, followed by reach (18%) and price (17%).  

Two thirds of advertisers say the main benefits of networks are 'increased reach' with over half of them (55%) also benefiting from 'more flexible payment models' like buying on a CPC or CPA basis and 'lower cost' (also 55%).  

A third benefit from saving time when planning whilst 28% see improved technology, such as frequency caps on campaigns, as an advantage and a quarter enjoy having few media owners to liaise with.

Linus Gregoriadis, Research Director at Econsultancy, added: "Online advertising networks have established themselves as an integral part of the display advertising ecosystem, offering value to both publishers and advertisers. For publishers, they offer an additional revenue stream whilst giving advertisers huge reach and helping them to tap into the right audiences."

More than 600 digital marketers took part in The Online Advertisers Survey Report, which was carried out in August and September 2009. The respondents included 121 direct advertisers and 139 involved with media planning and buying.  

Members of the IAB, Econsultancy, EIAA and AOP participated in the research.