10 Ad Networks Kick off UK Ad Exchange

Written on February 2nd 2007

AdECN has partnered up with 10 online, UK-based networks to create a consortium that hopes to revamp the process of buying and selling inventory within the industry.

Set up as a not-for-profit entiry, the UK branch of AdECN will provide its members with opportunities “…to buy and sell ad inventory for their advertiser and publisher clients on an automated and neutral exchange”, which AdECN hopes will result in advertisers having more transparency while spending less time filling out orders.

E-consultancy notes that AdECN’s CEO/founder Bill Urschel has been instrumental in the convergence of the partnership, getting the message across that traditional methods of communication such as faxes and telephones has put the industry at a snail’s pace without the use of automated exchanges.

John Cole, managing director of MediaRun, one of the consortium’s members, states, “The key to the AdECN exchange is its neutrality. Cole goes on to say, “This is the first time that we will have the opportunity to buy and sell display advertising in an efficient way. The present system is nowhere near efficient enough and attracts all sorts of middlemen. The closer an advertiser can get to the source, the better the results; this is the perfect system for eliminating chain-buying.”

According to E-consultancy’s 2007 Online Advertising Networks Buyer’s Guide, UK online ad networks now account for up to 25% of UK display advertising spend.

Additionally, the guide claims that the 40-plus online ad networks operating in the UK made an estimated £120 million (approximately $236 million USD) in revenue during 2006.