Tools And Research Enable Premium Advertising Systems

When I read between the lines of this ad for Yahoo!, here's what I see about the media buying and display ad industry:

This ad is aimed at new entrants in the advertising space. You can tell because the ad's implication is that an advertiser only needs Yahoo!, which is far from true.  I love Yahoo! - it provides great value and reach and it is a top brand.  I only point out that a big role for Yahoo! is to bring new advertisers to the market. When someone's new to a space, they're going to begin with a name they recognize, and Yahoo! capitalizes on this very effectively, as they should.  This ad is doing just that.

What's interesting is what happens when an advertiser is no longer new to the space. Where do they go?  Why do they move and who decides?

What is so eternally great about the internet is that it is too big to be controlled by its dominant companies.  Google and Yahoo! simply can't corner the market on advertising.  They're up against expansion, innovation, and channels that appear to serve business needs at lightning speed.

In the history of media and software, choke holds were common.  Pre-cable network TV and Microsoft are two examples of extremely dominant business positions based on scarcity of players in the media space.

Of course scarcity is over, but the opportunities remain to be exclusive.  This is where ad agencies have their greatest opportunity.

Using tools and research, an ad agency now can offer media options that are very closely tailored to the needs of their customers.  Agencies can make media buying a strategic advantage for themselves by putting in the time to know where all the niche publishers, bloggers, recommendation sites are that have a match for their clients.  Giving clients options beyond Giant Ad Network A B or C  and Premium Publisher X  Y or Z is a way to stand out. What can makes this possible is having tools that allow that research to be packaged into “premium” networks that are the agency's alone to offer clients -  highly tailored to their specific goals. No aggregator or exchange can match the targeting a trusted advisor who has done his homework can bring.

Looking beyond the Yahoo! and Google offerings is  lot of work to put in. It's not without risk:  if the clients back out of the program early, payoff is delayed. But not deferred:  having media management tools that can make research re-usable across all clients will build agency expertise and make the process more efficient.  Delivery of each new “custom” media solution should take less time to assemble than the last.