Online ad network Burst Media Monday launched a new network, Burst Direct, which centers on direct response online campaigns.
Previously, Burst focused exclusively on brand
advertisers, said CEO Jarvis Coffin. "Now is the time to provide a differentiated level of service," he said of the new network, adding that it will give direct response advertisers "the kind of
efficiencies they need to be successful."
Burst Direct will sell into space that Burst's brand advertising network eschewed, including remnant inventory. The new direct-response network also will
include Web sites that did not qualify for the brand network, either because their reach, content, or audience quality was insufficient, Coffin said.
Another difference between Burst's brand
network and the new one is that the former informs advertisers exactly which sites their ads will be running on, but Burst Direct will be nontransparent, with ad buys being made over thousands of
unspecified sites.
Burst's play for direct advertisers will put them in competition with some of the older and larger players in the ad network space, including Advertising.com, ValueClick, and
BlueLithium--all of which run large-volume online ad networks.