• paidContent.org, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 9:30 AM

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia President Wenda Harris Millard opened a big can of worms when she said that media buyers were letting their brands be distributed like "pork bellies" across online ad networks and exchanges. To clarify the issue, paidContent.org's interviewed Millard and several other media execs, including AOL Platform A President Lynda Clarizio, about their views on the distribution of online ads through networks.

If everyone agreed on one thing, it was the need for greater transparency about what's being sold and where it's being placed. That said, AOL's Clarizio points out that ad networks focused on the sale of remnant inventory serve a definite purpose. "I freely tell people, if you strictly want to be on the front page of iVillage, then you should have a conversation with iVillage. But not everyone has those kinds of specific needs. And to lump all networks together and compare it to the sale of pork bellies can confuse the issue." For a marketer that only cares about reach, unsold inventory can be a cheap, smart buy.

But Millard says it's more a question of value. "There are a number of networks out there that are focusing on simply amassing volumes of inventory that all result in decreased pricing-and, the discussion about value is never heard," she says.

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