Part 1 of 3: Importance of targeting smaller advertisers
A majority of online publishers primarily focus their ad sales efforts on agencies and large brand advertisers via their direct sales force. The cost of operation for this sales channel often requires them to set a minimum ad buy per campaign. In conversations I’ve had with multiple online publishers in North America we have heard that the cost of running an online campaign ranges from $2,500 to $4,000 per campaign. This includes the sales, operations and finance costs. As such you will find that minimum ad buys are set between $2,500 and $10,000 per buy.
With that said, advertisers seeking to purchase smaller ad orders are unable to work directly with online publishers because of these minimums. In most cases, smaller advertisers will spend their advertising budget on solutions like Google AdSense. The limited amount of options for smaller advertisers has a direct effect on online publishers; either they will only generate a small amount of revenue from ad networks or it will all go to companies like Google.
Although their ad orders are of a smaller dollar value, the number of potential advertisers in this segment of the market far exceeds those of large brands; according to Borrel, SMBs make up for 95 percent of all local advertising online. Therefore, it is illogical for publishers to not seek a more effective solution to serve the smaller advertiser market. The potential to generate a higher eCPM than you would from an ad network or exchange is there; it just needs to be considered.
In my 15 years of experience in the digital media world, I have explored this topic in depth and feel there is one option that is simple enough for advertisers (without experience) to work with and provides publishers with a decent return: self-serve advertising platforms. With a self-serve solution, publishers can automate the sales, operations and finance components of running a campaign thereby making the process of servicing smaller advertisers less costly and more profitable. There is no human involvement from the perspective of an online publisher, which can be the most costly component.
Obviously a solution like this will not work if it is not properly promoted, but if done well, can make a big impact on publisher’s ad revenues. But don’t take my word for it; try it out for yourself! Most solutions work on a revenue sharing model so it’s free to get started.
Anyone out there try a self-serve solution yet? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience. Feel free to comment and let’s get the conversation started!
Shiny Ads was invited to join 20 other innovative Canadian startups at C100‘s 48Hrs in the Valley – June 8 and 9. This years event focuses on Social Media: Advertising, Metrics and Monetization, which is a perfect fit for Shiny Ads’ self-serve digital advertising platform. During the 48 hours, startups will have an opportunity to network and learn from C100′s Charter Members, which is an impressive list of tech companies and investors.
And we have more good news to share! We just found out that Shiny Ads was selected to pitch at the Plug and Play EXPO on the second day of 48Hrs in the Valley. The plug and Play EXPO features 30 promising startups pitching to over 100 VC investors. Roy Pereira, Founder/CEO of Shiny Ads says, “C100 is a great organization that has a history of connecting the best with the best – Canadian entrepreneurs with partners in Silicon Valley – and we’re proud to be included. This is an amazing opportunity for Shiny Ads and we’re ready to shine during our 48 hours in the Valley!”
Thank you for realizing our potential, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada! We truly appreciate the support and are honoured to be involved with TGI and all the great things the program is doing for the Canadian tech community!
The win will give Shiny Ads access to Canada’s Trade Consulates in the US.
“And what is TGI?”, you ask. It is a unique 360° turnaround process allowing qualified emerging Canadian technology companies in the IT, Cleantech/Environmental Technology and Life sciences sectors access to dynamic U.S. markets in four phases; 6 business focused webinars, one-day business bootcamp, specialty designed technology pipeline, and aftercare. For more information on the program visit href=”http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/document.jsp?did=112057″>www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca
Our self-serve advertising platform provides online publishers with the ability to maximize revenue from small and local advertisers by automating the sales, finance, and ad operations process in a cost effective manner. Meaning online publishers now have access to an untapped revenue stream.
Sounds good, right? Well we just went one step further!
Shiny Ads’ inside sales module now offers integration with Salesforce.com, the enterprise cloud computing company known for it’s CRM platform.  This allows online publishers to easily retrieve existing advertiser account information – further simplifying the ordering process.
After weeks of preparation and countless hours of rehearsing, Business Insider’s Startup 2011 has come to a close. Shiny Ads came out on top in Startups first-ever four way tie! However, at the end of the day one winner would have to be awarded the cheque for $25,000 from General Catalyst Partners – shout outs to Quartzy whose name was written on the ‘pay to the order of’ line.
“A lot of the other companies had great technology and great teams, but their businesses had more visible constraints,” says Jonathan Teo, Managing Director of General Cataylst Partners. Teo noted, however, that Shiny Ads and UberTags were close runners-up. Check out the full story.
Thank you to Business Insider and the organizers of Startup 2011. The conference was invaluable and has helped bring Shiny Ads closer to our goals. Much love!
On Tuesday, May 10th, Shiny Ads’ Founder and CEO, Roy Pereira, will be pitching at Startup 2011 – New York’s Premier Entrepreneurship Conference. The winner of this bake-off will pocket $100,000: a $25,000 investment from founding sponsor General Catalyst Partners and $75,000 in goods and services.
We are flattered to have been chosen as one of the 8 finalists from over 100 entries and the only Canadian company on the roster. We can guarantee a very interesting 4 minutes. That’s right, only 4 minutes… now to decide which of our 8642 slides to cut out.
The past few weeks have been incredible! Not only did we close our seed round, but we received a lot of love from some major media outlets. The wealth of support has been overwhelming and all we can say is THANK YOU! I’ve included some of the highlights below.
Sprouter – “Shiny Ads receives seed funding for self-serve ad platform”
TechVibes – “Shiny Ads raises $500K in seed funding from Maple Leaf Angels and York Angels”
VentureBeat – “Deals & More: Shiny Ads raises $500K for self-serve ad platform”
SF Gate – “Shiny Ads Secures Funding For Its’ Award-Winning Self-Serve Advertising Platform”
Reuters c/o Venture Beat – “Deals & More: Shiny Ads raises $500K for self-serve ad platform”
Ad Ops Online – “Shiny Ads Secures Funding for Its Award-Winning Self-Serve Advertising Platform”
The city of Toronto recently issued a press release and report on Canada’s digital media economy, announcing that Toronto has been named Canada’s high tech hub. In the report there is a section (page 7) for ‘Emerging Toronto companies to watch’ and Shiny Ads is listed!
We are excited and honoured to be part of such a talented group of startups – congrats to us all!
Follow the innovation alley to find Shiny Ads at ad:tech San Francisco, April 11-13.
To book a meeting during the conference please fill out this short form or contact
Zunaid Khan – VP, Business Development & Sales | zunaid[at]shinyads[dot]com or 416 800 7340 x5
ABOUT SHINY ADS Shiny Ads is a Toronto based advertising technology company focused on helping online publishers maximize revenue from advertisers of all sizes. With Shiny Ads, publishers have control over the entire ad purchasing process by a simple, user-friendly self-serve advertising platform integrated into their backend. It allows small and local (long-tail) advertisers to quickly and easily purchase advertising without the need for industry knowledge, graphic designers, or a large budget.
As THE event for digital marketers, ad:tech features the industry’s most entrepreneurial and innovative marketers. By attending, you’ll have the opportunity to network and learn from experts on what’s hot in social media, mobile, viral, cross-channel, application-based and geo-location marketing. You can also walk the ad:tech Expo hall floor to meet one-on-one with 300+ influential, leading-edge businesses and experts who specialize in everything from search and publishing to video, mobile and much more.
