• by Ross Fadner , November 6, 2008

So, horizontal or vertical networks, which one is the way to go? If you ask Joe Casale, CEO of big horizontal Casale Media, there’s room for both. Horizontals clearly have greater reach than verticals, but verticals offer better targeting for certain advertisers. “We think there’s a very powerful place for vertical networks,” Casale said. “I think the question is more, ‘how do you use both tools?’ instead of which one is better.”

 

Icon International’s Jocelyn Griffing said the question of horizontal or vertical depends on the client. She said a small bakery client would spend the whole of their $50K budget on horizontals, while a high-end luxury client might buy very specific audiences on vertical networks.

 

As for which kind of network has proven most successful, Griffing said Icon probably has more business skewing toward the vertical side, “but dollar for dollar, we’ve probably spent more money with AOL’s Platform A (the largest horizontal network), than anyone else.”