Getting back to the Basics of Working With an Ad Network…

A few months ago, I was reading a great book called, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, by David Meerman Scott.  After the first few chapters, I felt as if I was reading about topics I felt that I already understood.  Or so I thought.  By the end of the book I found myself saying, “What a refresher course.” Although I was trying to learn something new, as the book clearly states, I ended up remembering the important basics that had so quickly left my memory bank. The book talked about “the new rules”, but it was also a reminder that the old rules still apply.

This past week, I was reading an article posted on Adotas titled, Boosting Campaign Performance with Ad Networks; the same thing happened. The article pointed out five basic points to achieve an ideal campaign with an Ad Network.  Although the points were somewhat obvious, it brought to mind the undeniable disconnect between what advertisers know about ad networks and realizing the full potential of what ad networks are capable of.  We decided to elaborate on these points to rehash some of the straightforward yet often overlooked benefits of working with an ad network.

First, the article says to find someone on the inside that can, and is willing, or motivated to help you. Well, we couldn’t agree more. Our Account Management team is trained to think as though they are our client’s inside representative.

The second point, be honest about your campaign goals. To us, this seems obvious enough, but it is certainly worth including.  We deliver the best results for our clients when their true goals have been made as clear as possible.  We are always prepared to deliver success in any way we need to, but we are not trained to be mind readers.

Being realistic in your expectations is third.  This one is important.  We can deliver impressive online advertising campaigns, if we are given the chance.  But the truth is that, while we have pulled off a miracle or two, expecting a highly targeted campaign that is focused on a very small sample audience, to produce scalable leads, at a minimal cost, is simply not a realistic expectation.

The fourth point the article makes is, don’t be afraid to ask for special accommodations, especially if you are the key person buying media for a brand.  While we can’t promise we’ll always be able to accommodate a request 100%, the truth is that we are a service business and we understand that you know your business better than anyone else.  Our job is to make sure you know what is possible, but you need to let us know what is important to you.

Finally, the fifth and final point that the article makes is that constant communication is crucial, especially in the early stages of your ad campaign. Our view of the client/network relationship rests on the interaction between your point campaign person and one of our top notch Account Managers.  We know that the campaign that starts out in the most organized and open way is the campaign that ends with success.  Communication in the launch phase is probably the single most important to ensuring this success.

Working with an Ad Network is an important aspect to any online marketing strategy.  But if you don’t know what the Ad Network is capable of, you might get lost in an ocean of options that you don’t fully understand. We may all say we understand the importance of communication, but in the fast moving world of online advertising we can sometimes forget the basics. Re-remembering these few simple (yet true) key points is an important part of moving forward and running a successful campaign.

VIDEO: CPX CEO, Mike Seiman  interviewed at ad:tech NYC

The folks at iMediaConnection caught up with CPX CEO, Mike Seiman, and had a couple of questions for him, including why we are doing our “Strategy is the New Creative’ workshop roadshow and where he sees CPX and the industry going in 2011.

Flip through the book below (by clicking on the bottom right corner of each page) to see the evolution of our X ads, and be sure to check out CPX’s new splash page: www.nameyourmetric.com.

originally posted May 2008

CPX Interactive announces the launch of a new division of the company, CPXample, committed to lending its considerable resources to worthy causes and charities.

Each month, CPXample will spotlight one forward-leaning, hard-working, positive, Internet-based entity (usually not-for profit, but not necessarily) that is trying to make a difference. Over the course of the month, CPX Interactive will donate 50,000,000 ad placements across its vast network of more than 5,000 websites to the entity. CPX reaches over 195 global unique monthly users and serves over 24 billion monthly global impressions.

CPXample has already lined up its first two beneficiaries. SaveDarfur.org, a champion of the global effort to raise awareness of the tragedy in The Sudan, will receive 50,000,000 free network impressions in October, and Liveearth.org, the advocates dedicated to a global campaign raising awareness for the climate crisis, will receive 50,000,000 ad placements in November. Both campaigns are designed to drive petition signatures and each would carry a conservatively estimated retail value of approximately $50,000.

“CEO and co-founder, Mike Seiman, sums it up best this way, “We know that the power to significantly affect the flow of huge amounts of targeted traffic on the Internet is, in fact, a great responsibility…and we take that responsibility seriously. This company was founded on the ideals of unity [the company's parent company is named B.U.D.S. -- for Brothers Unda Da Skin] and we are thrilled to be in a position to put teeth behind those ideals.”

CTO and network co-founder, Carlton Hickman explains, “There are a lot of good people doing good things out there. If we can leverage the power of the network to lend a hand, then we’ll call this initiative a success.”

Next on the list for the newest division of this progressive online ad network? VP of Marketing, David Shay, says “We are planning an unprecedented ‘Get Out The Vote’ campaign for early next year. We don’t want to divulge the details yet, but we guarantee it will be pretty cutting edge stuff.”

originally posted 7/10/07

Some of the largest players in the ad network space only monetize a publisher’s premium inventory – the first few impressions per unique visitor. Most often, the remaining non-premium (also known as “remnant”) inventory is defaulted either to unmonetized “house” ads or daisy-chained down to other networks.It is not surprising, then, that a recent study conducted by Forrester Research, Inc. indicates that 25 percent of online advertising inventory is never actually sold.

CPX Interactive is the largest global online ad network proactively serving the non-premium display ad market and dedicated to efficiently monetizing 100% of publishers’ inventory.

If other networks are interested in monetizing only the “low hanging fruit” of premium impressions, CPX has developed unparalleled skill in monetizing the remaining fruit on the tree. CPX’s proprietary process includes arbitraging non-premium inventory, conducting targeted traffic analysis, developing and honing specific conversion-focused creative, and parlaying years of historical data and learning into dynamically optimized performance-based campaigns that maximize publisher revenue for inventory that would otherwise be written off as valueless.

A well-placed equity firm in the industry estimates that the non-premium display market will be the fastest growing segment of the overall online advertising market from 2006-2011, growing at a 28% CAGR to $7.6B, which represents 12% of a $60.1B estimate for the total online ad market in 2011

It may be more of a challenge than some industry players are willing go after…but that’s a lot of fruit!