Online advertising

Online advertising

Banner ads and ad networks have been around since the dawn of Internet advertising, but thanks to better targeting and the ability to incorporate rich media directly into a banner, the channel is poised for a rebirth in 2010.

“I expect to see banner ads become more integrated with rich media and more interactive within the banners themselves, whether through video or social,” says Sean Cheyney, VP of marketing and business development at life insurance broker AccuQuote. “The result is going to be more innovation and better experiences for the consumer.”

Vertical ad networks will continue to grow as brands seek targeted audiences, because they possess rich data about customers. More display media buyers will focus on buying by audience.

“We're going to see a lot of growth in audience-based buying, be it psychographic, behavioral, purchase intent [or other segments] as audience profiles have gotten much deeper,” says Raj Chauhan, VP of business development at The Rubicon Project.

One of the challenges ad networks face is the FTC investigation into behavioral targeting. The industry has been pursuing self regulation and introduced their first public education campaign in late 2009 aimed at educating consumers on behavioral targeting.