Advertising network

A firm that aggregates the media space from many digital services and centralises their selling. These sales representation firms can be divided into different market segments and different types of products, selling anything from a single website to thousands of sites. Some networks encompass other digital channels such as interactive TV platforms or mobile networks. Typically they all provide centralised planning, execution, control, tracking and reporting for online media campaigns. Ad networks leverage technology to create solutions that help advertisers and publishers benefit from their economies of scale. Networks of sites can be grouped by vertical-sector or premium-branded content such as sport or newspapers, while others will sell across a broad portfolio of sites. Sometimes the space is sold against specific environments, other times it can be sold ‘blind’. Many also manage their own technology solutions that support the scheduling. Networks usually group their sites into vertical market sectors but also offer blind buys across the whole network.