• by Ross Fadner , November 6, 2008

Why are big Web publishers forming their own ad networks? Certainly, these brands want to expand their reach, a move which benefits both themselves and the smaller publishers in their network, but Christine Cook, SVP Digital Sales for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, believes that consumers also benefit from Martha’s Circle, MSLO’s ad network.

 

“I think consumers are increasingly looking to different publishers to edit the Web for them,” Cook said at the OMMA AdNets show in NY on Thursday. “When you really want information, you go to points that you trust. In a certain way we’re all (editing the Web) for our audience.”

 

Forbes.com CEO Jim Spanfeller agreed, saying he liked the idea of “a brand as a filter,” but one that also benefits the advertising community. The idea, he said, is to gain reach and enhance contextualization for advertisers, who can effectively use branded networks like Forbes’ as “guideposts.” David Rittenhouse, Senior Partner and Media Director of Neo@Ogilvy, agreed that branded networks are “reassuring” from an advertiser standpoint. The technical ownership of those sites may not matter to an advertiser, he said, “but the quality matters the world.”

 

Cook added that to maintain advertiser and consumer trust, branded networks must necessarily remain small. “There’s not a lot of editing if it’s too big,” she said. “If what you’re offering is too massive, it’s really hard to keep your arms around it.”