The ADSmart Solution

ADSmart provides several solutions to help Web publishers manage their online advertising businesses:

• ADSmart Sales Services, to help increase the Web publisher's revenues
  
  
• ADSmart Management Services, designed to reduce the Web publisher's costs
  
  
• ADSmart Ad Server and Management Software, for sites large enough to warrant an in­house ad serving and management operation
  
  

ADSmart Sales Services

ADSmart Sales Services enable Web publishers to promote and sell their online advertising space. This involves a two­pronged approach:

• ADSmart.net's online media kit
  
  
• ADSmart's direct sales force

ADSmart.net's online media kit

ADSmart provides tools for developing ad sales online. The most important of these is ADSmart.net's online media kit, in which Web publishers define and describe their sites' characteristics. Online media buyers can access the online media kit database at no cost to them ­ giving them 24­hour­a­day, 7­day­a­week, 365­day­a­year access to descriptive, page­level information about Web sites where they might want to advertise.

The online media kit supports Web publishers' marketing efforts by promoting their Web sites' unique characteristics every time an advertiser plans a campaign. It provides, in effect, a 'round­the­clock sales rep who knows and understands every aspect of each site's content, audience, traffic, etc. The online media kit doesn't require media buyers to remember all the important aspects of a site's offering. This is an enormous advantage because media planners are bombarded with dozens of calls from Web sites, magazines, newspapers, radio stations and television stations each week and cannot possibly have a current, thorough knowledge of every online media property.

ADSmart's marketing professionals use a proven methodology to help each Web site in the network to classify its pages appropriately so they are easily matched to advertiser campaign requirements. ADSmart helps sites optimally classify the segments, special events, sponsorships, and keywords to which advertisements can be attached, and then enter these characteristics into the online media kit database. ADSmart.net's classification scheme was developed based on input from advertisers and is updated regularly based on new advertiser requests.

ADSmart's direct sales force

The ADSmart sales team develops detailed profiles of the advertising space on each site in the network. ADSmart professionals consult with each Web site's staff in order to understand how best to promote the site.

Just as ADSmart's Sales Services address the revenue side of the profit equation by helping Web publishers enhance the promotion and sale of their advertising space, ADSmart's Management Services address the expense side by helping publishers efficiently and cost­effectively manage the associated back­end processes.

The expenses required to 1) manage an online advertising business effectively, and 2) provide the levels of service that customers expect are enormous. As all Web publishers who run ads already know, these costs can easily erode the profits. In fact, the up­front costs are often a major deterrent to Web publishers who want to run advertising on their sites but cannot afford to.

ADSmart's Management Services efficiently and cost­effectively handle these required back­end processes, including inventory management, management of creative files, ad serving and targeting, reporting and billing.

Inventory management

The ADSmart server links the online media kit to a scheduling module that handles the bookings for advertising campaigns. This module performs the same level of complex scheduling as that of an airline bookings system. An agency can reserve space online for up to a week, obtain an insertion order and then book the ad when the insertion order is approved. If the space is no longer availablewhen the agency attempts to book it (i.e., if the space has not been booked within a week), the application suggests alternative space.

Management of creative files

The online media kit describes the advertising requirements and restrictions of each Web site, including the types of files supported by the site. Knowing this information up front allows advertiser to develop creative materials that match the site's requirements the first time and eliminates the frustration to both parties of having the site reject unusable or inappropriate creative. Furthermore, ADSmart's on­site advertising managers review incoming creative to make sure it meets the Web publisher's stated ad specifications.

Ad serving and targeting

For most sites, the most effective and cost­efficient choice is the combination of ADSmart Sales Services (to promote and sell their ad space) and ADSmart Management Services (to manage the back­end processes and control costs). However, publishers of very large sites that already have in place the infrastructure (hardware and staffing) for serving and managing an advertising business may want to consider using elements of the ADSmart software in­house. Software package will be available for in­house use at Web sites in the first half of 1997, addressing the following functionality:

• Site profile application for effective marketing of the site.
  
  
• Sales quote system that allows salespeople to generate custom quotes, check ad space inventory and book orders.
  
  
• Scheduling application to reserve and book advertising space. The package allows Web sites to set parameters to give advertisers first right of renewal and to send preset reminders to renew ad contracts via email.
  
  
• Tracking application to keep track of each creative file ­ advertising graphic, sound clip, and video ­ and associate them with specific advertising spaces.
  
  
  • Provides an interface at the Web site for advertisers to associate creative art with their campaigns.
    
    
  • Keeps a running catalog of all creative for future use.
    
    
  • Allows the site publisher to preset editorial guidelines for ad size, file formats, and any restrictions (such as no alcohol or tobacco advertising).
    
    
  • Enables the Web site editorial staff to review all creative as part of the acceptance process.
    
    
• User targeting application to match an advertiser's profile with the profile of different users. The software creates matches by tracking user demographics, psychographics, and behavior.
  
  
• Exception reports to compare scheduled advertising versus actually logged advertising.
  
  
• Online reports to track revenue, top advertisers, and the progress of the sales team.
  
  
• Site management reports to help drive Web site management content decisions
  
  

Partnering With ADSmart Makes Sense

ADSmart can provide robust, proven solutions for a Web site's advertising operations. The marketing and operations staffs have extensive experience with two major Internet companies: Lycos and GeoCities.

ADSmart's approach makes sense for Web publishers because it is a low­risk approach that helps them increase revenues and minimize costs.

• ADSmart's online media kit promotes every facet of every piece of content on a publisher's site, every time the content is appropriate for an advertiser's campaign.
  
  
• ADSmart's TrueTargeting approach combines demographic­, psychographic­ and behavior­based targeting to help publishers match advertising messages with customers who are able, willing and ready to buy. Well­targeted ads perform better, increasing the value of the Web publisher's ad space inventory.
  
  
• ADSmart uses a variable cost model, so the company has a stake in the success of each site in the network. ADSmart doesn't make money until the publisher does, and the company provides support and counsel to help its member sites earn the maximum advertising revenues.
  
  
• ADSmart assumes the up­front costs of running the site's advertising business.
  
  
• ADSmart's staff has proven Web site advertising experience that includes selling advertising space and managing advertising operations for Lycos, one of the top five ad revenue sites on the Web.
  
  
• ADSmart's staff are experienced and knowledgeable about advertising business processes as well as Web technology.
  
  
• ADSmart is a member of the CMG family of companies, giving it ongoing access to leading­edge technologies as well as a stable financial base.