• by The POV , December 15, 2000

By Debbi K. Swanson

We left off our series on the evolving future of online ad exchanges by asking the question... How long will it take to get complete end solution in place? It sounds like from the buyer's perspective, the industry has a long way to go.

Missy Russell of Utopiad and Utopiadvertiser.com, who comes from the traditional media world and understands how agencies work, says her company has successfully used ad exchanges.

"We use them for both buying and selling as our site is an ad network of consumers who use different products that we have. I really like OneMediaPlace. Their system is easy with drop down menus, and you can do it quickly. I use it to buy, to submit an RFP and to sell inventory. It's been successful both ways."

The key, however, is having people to talk to. "They have people behind it. If the recipient - a buyer, etc., isn't sure about the info on a request, OneMediaPlace will make a call to ask questions. You still need to talk to people. It is possible to negotiate online, but at the end, I need to talk to someone. It feels better to conclude a deal by talking with a person."

Experience has been ok, but not quite as positive with another leading exchange.

"We're just getting started with AdOutlet. But we've seen that we're not getting the same level of traffic on the sales site, not as many people who want to buy. And their system is a little more complicated, taking more time to learn. But they have helped us through the whole set-up process, which was very helpful." But the dream for most buyers, is to have one system, so the learning curve is eliminated.

And what Russell has found is that years of experience in the basics of traditional media make things go smoother in any kind of media buy, including online exchanges. "It makes a huge difference if the person you're dealing with knows a lot or doesn't," says Russell. "There's such a chasm of people who think they know advertising and those who really do."

That seems to suggest that exchanges that offer software programs without the real support system won't be able to last.

"The big problem for exchanges is people use them for pricing and then go offline to call the rep and make the deal," says Russell. "It happens all the time. People circumvent the system to get a lower price. I think these guys serve a valuable niche, if it's just remnant space you want to sell for a really low price."

There also have been unforeseen benefits of this once small company using exchanges. "They've actually helped us brand ourselves. We started out as a small company, and we're not huge, but when people go online and see who they can buy from, it adds credibility to us."

Sharon Katz, vice president of Modem Media, says she's on the opposite side of the media world. "We haven't used them. We believe media buying is all about relationships. We work with media partners to develop programs with measurable results. We have objectives, goal