News Corp has launched its ad network .FoxNetworks in India, with Pooja Puri as Head of Sales, reports Afaqs. Puri, who moved from HindustanTimes.com, has told Afaqs that they will initially do display and lead generation campaigns, and roll out other services later.
Which other services?
1. Going through the .FoxNetworks site, we came across a differentiated positioning for the network: Brandformance. It appears that .FoxNetworks aggregates the long tail of high value sites…how many such sites exist in India, and will the company put feet on the ground to aggregate the long tail in India?
2. Rich Media apps - widget ads, social media ad applications and viral apps.
3. Search Engine Optimisation, Search Engine Marketing
They also have two other ad networks:
1. Worthnet.fox: is a vertical ad network for the financial and investment community, and it may just be worthless now, given the financial segment turmoil.
2. Utarget.FOX creates video inventory: two video ad networks are already in operation in India, namely, Jivox and VDOPIA.
How the Digital Advertising Space Has Changed
Over the past year, digital agencies - particularly Quasar Media - have campaigned hard for advertisers to switch towards display advertising, probably fearing a growth in the pay-for-performance model that Pinstom in particular has been pushing.
A few people I’ve spoken to in the advertising business are of the opinion that given the current market conditions, digital advertising is going to strengthen, but lead generation (CPL) and CPC advertising will be the preferred models. Display is going to weaken.
Over the past six months, key segments like Financial Services, Online Travel and Jobs had reduced digital advertising spends - apparently ICICI Bank slashed their online budget considerably, as did a few auto companies. As a consequence of this, even lead generation may have suffered.
There doesn’t appear to be space for yet another network in this space…what do you think?
