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Breitbart Controversy Spotlights Ad Technology Confusion

Newegg and Kellogg Co. are among marketers that have pulled ads from the Breitbart News Network, a conservative news site that has been accused of spreading hate-mongering among other things. A report by the Wall Street Journal reveals that marketers are increasingly finding themselves in sticky situations in part, because automated ad buying doesn't enable them to know on which sites their ads are running -- that is, unless they do private marketplace deals or some form of automated guaranteed deals. "The situation at Breitbart is bringing into sharp focus the complications of ad technology and the risks for marketers. Using sophisticated online ad-buying technologies, many advertisers now pay to place ads in front of specific users as they move around the web, as opposed to placing ads on specific websites," the Journal reports. And while programmatic technology is efficient for targeting specific audiences across thousands of sites, it "presents risks, as ads can sometimes appear in some unintended places, unless advertisers proactively prevent from appearing there." Breitbart last week asked readers to boycott Kellogg products.

Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »

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