• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, May 8, 2006

NetShelter, the privately held vertical ad network, today will announce the availability of its Branded Network, which allows for site-specific and prominent ad buys, using tricks like home page roadblocks and page takeovers.

Pirouz Nilforoush, co-CEO and director of NetShelter's Branded Network, said it can offer a high degree of targeting. "NSBN is about accountability for high-profile tech sites, selling them as individual entities--and not part of a vast network where advertisers and agencies don't really know where their ads are running," Nilforoush said.

Serving a half-billion monthly impressions across sites like ArsTechnica, Geek.com, PhoneScoop.com, and Hexus.net--and with a U.S. audience that currently approaches 1.9 million unique users--NetShelter has its sites on the Web's leading technology sites, including Cnet's News.com, Ziff Davis Internet, and CMP Media.

NetShelter's executive team is hoping to exploit rising CPM rates, resulting from a current shortage in available inventory. "In the technology vertical, it's gotten to the point where it's very costly to put ads in front of people," said Peyman Nilforoush, co-CEO and NetShelter's head of agency relations. "We can put advertisers in front of the same audience for much less cost."

Because NetShelter is the exclusive ad rep firm for the inventory in its network, it is better positioned to give advertisers the presence they're after. They promise a range of opportunities, from full-site sponsorship and home page roadblocks to page takeovers and over-the-page units. They expect to announce the availability of pre-roll within a month.

The new offering builds on its existing Content Network, which serves banners ads across 60 content categories and packaged in five tech channels: IS/IT computing; tech and gadgets; consumer electronics; developer and games.

NetShelter provides BPA Interactive site audits by I/PRO, which contain audited site statistics like page views, unique visits, and geographical breakdown for its network of publisher sites.