Advertising network Adrevenue has gone into administration today after talks with potential buyers fell through. The advertising network which has been operating since 2000 served display adverts across publisher sites in a standard network auction model. They offered both blind and transparent media buying solutions as well as mobile advertising and search advertising. Their selling point was their large network of smaller niche sites allowing for targeting by user type or interest.
The announcement isn’t a huge shock as networks of this type have been becoming less and less popular for a long time now (flexible digital marketing is the future remember!) but the question I am asking is, are Adrevenue the first in a long line of casualties in the current economic climate, or are they the anomaly? Is this really the start of Web Bust 2.0 or just a blip?
There has been much talk about digital being the go to medium in the impending recession, but in reality, every advertising channel is going to suffer as companies tighten the purse strings. Blind advertising networks and inflexible digital channels only ever had a limited shelf life as Internet marketers look for accountability and transparency on spend. Are they the first casualty in what is bound to be a tough year for all forms of media?
What do you think A one off, or a sign off things to come?
I had an email from a sales rep last week to inform me that the AdRevenue name had now changed as they thought ‘it had become a bit dated’. Hmmm.
One thing to note is that these guys were based outside of London, somewhere in the SW I think and the sales team were not the most proactive bunch!