In the previous section of this article, we discussed the various features to look for in an ad management package, including media support, reporting and targeting. In this section, we'll take a look at available packages one by one, beginning with the cheapest.
March 20, 1999
This article is in three parts:
ClickWise/Focalink, IMGIS AdForce, and various other full-featured packages are offered as "services" rather than as "products", that is, only by particular ad networks, and so will not be covered here. I've included Adfinity, although it is priced on a CPM basis (you pay a certain amount per thousand impressions served). A spokesman for Intelligent Interactions Corporation has told me that they are moving toward a "service bureau model" (they were recently bought by ad rep firm 24/7), and Adfinity will probably cease to be offered as a stand-alone product eventually.
Ad networks apparently find it expedient to either buy or make exclusive agreements with the developers of ad-management packages, so several of the most full-featured packages out there are now the exclusive domain of particular ad networks, and not available to Web publishers who want to manage ads in-house. The following list has been limited to full-featured banner ad management packages that are available for purchase and use by individual Web sites.
Mid-Level Packages
Central Ad PRO 3.0J
This package offers basic functionality for a tiny price, and runs on NT or Unix. Page targeting and day/time targeting are available.
ADvantage, from CyberOps, Inc.
This one runs only on NT 4.0 servers, but its core Active Server Component claims to "take full advantage of the NT architecture to deliver performance far, far beyond that of standard CGI-style ad solutions." Multiple ads on a page are supported, as is even delivery. Day/time targeting is available, but more complex user targeting is not. No rich banner types, no email reports, and no cache-defeating functionality.
Dynamo Ad Station 3.0, from Art Technology Group, and Radiation AMS, from GlobalMedia Design, are two lesser-known (but powerful) medium-priced products that may be worth a look.
AdJuggler 3.1
For a comparatively low price, AdJuggler offers much of the functionality of the top-dollar packages. Rich media are not supported, and the delivery options don't work quite as advertised, but otherwise all of the advanced features described above are covered.
Page targeting and day/time targeting are available, but user targeting is not. AdJuggler reports only impressions, clickthroughs, and clickthrough rate, but the user can generate a real-time report for any desired time period, broken down by day, week or month as desired. Unfortunately, there is no way to export the data to other applications (unless you do some custom programming).
AdJuggler is one of the few packages that can automatically generate email reports, although it's hard to imagine any advertiser who would be satisfied with them out of the box. The ASCII reports give two sets of figures: "cumulative" and "today". As no precise definition of these terms is offered, the figures are almost meaningless. Advertisers need figures for specific time periods, so that they can compare results from different campaigns, so an ad report needs to specify exactly the dates and times that a figure includes. At The Web Developer's Journal, we were able to craft a workaround using AdJuggler's API. AJ's figures get plugged into an HTML template with our logo and color scheme, and labeled with unambiguous titles like "6/1/98 through 6/30/98 inclusive". The page is then emailed to the client as an attachment. This solution required a fair amount of custom programming on our part.
The Big Three
OAS and the Accipiter and NetGravity offerings are the top of the line for commercially available products. They have the features and flexibility needed by large Web sites, groups of Web sites, and even ad networks. They can do all the standard types of targeting that the lesser lights can do, plus some other neat tricks having to do with profiling individual users. They all offer very detailed online reports that incorporate all the targeting that has been selected. These packages can create not only traffic reports, but reports that project available ad inventory, and reports that compare different campaigns. Reports are accessed online, and are customizable and exportable. Of the Big Three, only AdManager offers automated email reporting (a new feature in version 4.0). All three do make their API available, so a bit of custom programming shouldn't be too huge a project.
None of the Big Three have a set price - they all want to charge a "subscription fee" based on your traffic. They want a piece of the action, and in the end, I'll bet that the price for one of these systems is usually negotiated with each buyer. Accipiter and RealMedia also offer complete ad management services.
The differences among the Big Three have mostly to do with the fine points of targeting, and the platforms that are supported. Beware! Some of these packages won't work on some versions of Unix.
Open Ad Stream is owned by RealMedia, an ad-rep firm. It is also available for purchase, with prices starting at $8,000. Big clients include the New York Times and Washington Post. Targeting features are very extensive. Ads can be targeted by day/time, browser version, OS, domain, and by user profiles built from registration data. The online reports are very detailed, including breakdowns of impressions and clicks based on all targeting criteria that have been selected. The reports also include cool-looking graphs, which are generated by Java applets, which tends to make them a little dodgy.
OAS does not generate email reports (although it does generate the online reports at scheduled times, so whipping up a script to send them as email should be no great project). My contact at RealMedia confided to me that they are "more of a rep firm" than a software developer. This might be a warning sign for those who want to buy OAS to use in-house, but then again, the other two big dogs may end up in the same boat sooner or later as well.
OAS's anti-caching functionality is pretty nifty. There are separate systems to defeat browser caching and proxy server caching, and you can choose to use either, both or none. Unlike some other packages, OAS runs on every flavor of UNIX that I could think of (as well as NT).
AdManager 4.0, from Accipiter
Accipiter's AdManager can generate a variety of predefined or custom reports. Reports can be exported to several formats, including templates used by industry powerhouses Modem Media and Anderson & Lemke. Automated email reports are one of the new features in AdManager 4.0.
AdManager includes sophisticated targeting features comparable to the other two biggies, but the registration-based targeting action happens in the companion product, Engage. Engage incorporates not only registration information, but also behavioral information (what pages a visitor saw, and for how long, etc.) into a local database for use in targeting. There is also a database called Engage Knowledge, to which any site using Engage may choose to contribute user registration data. If you subscribe to Engage Knowledge, you can target ads based on around 100 categories, arranged in 4 levels. Thus, even if a visitor has not registered with your site, he may have previously registered with some other site, and spilled some demographic info that you can use to target ads. A nifty idea, but obviously its usefulness depends on how many sites use Engage Knowledge, how many people choose to divulge their demographic goodies, and how pertinent said goodies are to your subject matter.
NetGravity's AdServer 3
The big three's traffic reports can all be exported to applications such as spreadsheets or databases, and AdServer, like AdManager, goes a step further with built-in templates for several major ad agencies.
AdServer 3 offers a flexible, "open" targeting solution. Sites can create custom targeting information, and incorporate their user information into the targeting process in various different ways. Of course, the reports include all pertinent targeting data.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The trend at the moment is for networks and rep firms to buy the companies that make ad-management packages, and take them out of circulation. The only top-end packages not yet betrothed are Accipiter and NetGravity. Apparently there's more money in providing ad management as a service than in selling it as a software package. There are also compelling reasons for publishers to outsource their ad management. High-end ad-management packages are expensive, and they require some server expertise to install. Most Web publishers will find that meeting the needs of their advertisers will involve some custom programming, a fair amount of ongoing maintenance time, or both.
If you're determined to serve your ads in-house, your needs and budget will dictate your choice of products. At the bottom end of the scale, Central Ad PRO 3.0J is a darn good bargain. Its functionality is limited but solid, and the price can't be beat. Ad guru Mark Welch (see below) chose this one to use on his site, and that's a pretty strong endorsement. In the middle price range, AdJuggler is the clear winner. Its lack of advanced targeting capabilities, and lack of support for rich banner content, are the only things that separate it from the multi-thousand-dollar options. Like the pricey packages, its API is available for custom programming.
At the high end of the scale, Open Ad Stream is the one to beat. Its targeting abilities are unsurpassed, and the reporting options are a little better than those of either of the competitors. Some may be leery of OAS because it is owned by an ad rep firm. However, the other two may very well be snapped up soon as well, and Real Media has at least indicated that they do intend to continue to offer OAS as a stand-alone product.
A decision as to which package to choose is not to be made lightly. The most important things of all are stability and future prospects. Does the package work correctly most of the time, and is the maker truly committed to continuing to upgrade and support the product? Alas, these are things that no review can tell you, so whether you're leaning towards in-house ad management or a rep firm/network, I strongly advise you to spend some time swapping stories with people who use the various systems in the real world. There are several good mailing lists out there, as follows.
Online Advertising Discussion List
An ongoing discussion of online ad issues. The packages and networks mentioned in this article are frequently discussed. Subscription form at:
http://www.internetadvertising.org/subscribe.html
Internet Advertising Report
Contains links to current articles having to do with online advertising.
To subscribe, send mail to: listserv@listserv.internet.com, and put "SUBSCRIBE IAR " in the first line of the message body.
HTML Writers Guild
This organization sponsors several mailing lists, some of which sometimes discuss online advertising issues. Details at:
http://www.hwg.org/lists/
Internet Link Exchange Digest
Mainly concerned with issues having to do with link exchanges, but online advertising is sometimes discussed. To subscribe, send a message with any contents and subject (or none) to: subscribe-digest@le-digest.com.
Another essential resource for anyone involved in Internet advertising is Mark Welch's site (http://www.markwelch.com). This tireless online ad pundit lists just about everything having to do with online advertising, including ad management software packages, ad banner networks, stats and info about online ads, etc. etc. As for ad banner networks, some (DoubleClick and SoftBank) are hugely successful businesses, some are small-time (but legitimate) outfits, and many are simply scams. Mr. Welch keeps up to date on all of them (no easy task), and he isn't afraid to call them as he sees them. If you're thinking about signing up with any ad banner network, pay Mr. Welch a visit first!
This article is in three parts:
