Netimperative report on Digital Publishers flaws

Digital advertisers 'critical of publishers' ability to deliver'

By Staff

16-01-2007 10:44 AM

Most online advertisers and ad agencies in the UK are critical of their online publishers' ability to execute fully, according to a new study.

The research, conducted by research group GMI on behalf of Operative, reveals that more than half (53%) say they are unconvinced publishers have the appropriate business processes, practices and infrastructure in place to deliver effectively on contracts.

When asked to judge publishers on customer service, ROI/accountability, campaign delivery, accuracy of responses to RFPs and ad trafficking, 70% of advertisers and agencies thought publishers were either average or under par.

Overall, many publishers agreed with their clients' views (67%). All parties agreed that customer service was the most important measurement criteria but only half of the publishers questioned felt it was something they were good at. Only 18 % said they believed they gave better than average to good ROI.

When asked about their three greatest operational challenges over the coming two to three years, 2 in 3 publishers cited the full integration of their current systems and tools, closely followed by improving customer service and streamlining operational processes.

All three of these areas of pain came ahead of staff training and development, and attracting more skilled sales and operational staff. The majority (68%) agreed that operational personnel are currently spending too much time on low value tasks that could be automated.

Nearly all (90%) publishers agreed that operational efficiency is becoming more important to helping them meet client expectations and 75% said they had plans within the next two years to invest in operational enterprise software.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the last 12 months have seen many advertisers dealing with more publishers than before, combined with significant hikes in online ad spend (by up to 25% in most cases during 2006) which they forecast will continue during 2007 at similar rates of increase.

Tullio Siragusa, Senior Vice President at Operative, said: "Without doubt, many publishers have key business challenges to address and overcome within the next 6-12 months. It is pleasing that the majority of publishers are eager to stay ahead of their competition through the implementation of operational improvements and changes."

The survey findings are based on responses from 50 UK-based advertiser/digital media agency decision makers, and 50 UK-based online publisher decision makers. Companies ranged in size from below £1 million to in excess of £100 million. Only those responsible for digital media planning/buying and digital media sales/operations were eligible to take part.