Comments:
I agree 100% that advertisers DESERVE more transparency and accountability on the web. In my opinion ad networks have had a nice ride over the past year. They have been acquired for high valuations and received significant investment capital. I would love to see the due diligence the investment community has been doing on these ad networks.
We should keep in mind that there are at least two large divisions of advertisers. We can segment big brand advertisers into one group and small to midsized advertisers into another. While most big brand advertisers may strive for more control over online marketing efforts, the small to midsized players may not. Therefore, there will always be a market for ad networks who are not transparent or driven by quality of customers. Those same ad networks may also develop a premium product that offers advertisers more control at a higher cost.
Oh, where to begin. First of all, those of us who are in the ad network business may be able to shed some light on this subject. (We consult for a number of Wall Street fund managers on the internet advertising industry, particularly the networks).
I’ll simply say this: our observations and intel don’t exactly lineup with the commissioned study. Anyone who wishes to contact me about this is welcome to do so.