Update (2nd July): Goosefish appears to have dropped the idea of more ad networks, reports Afaqs.
Update (27 June): As per reliable sources, GooseFish is also considering other ad networks – one on Business (targeting ET, Mint, India Infoline, MoneyControl etc), Tech (targeting Tech2.0, Techtree, Alootechie etc), CXO (Premium ad network) and Bollywood (IndiaFM, Bombay Bitch etc).
Original Story (27 June): Goosefish Media Ventures, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of digital agency WebChutney, is planning to launch a couple of vertical advertising networks, Medianama has learned from sources. The network, called DivaNation, claims to be India’s first Womens Media Network, and is currently seeking partners for a network of “Indian Women on the Web”.
View the email sent out by DivaNation to prospective publishing partners here.
The rationale behind this is fairly simple – women are the biggest target-group for advertisers, and will provide them with a focused channel for advertising. DivaNation is claiming that they have HLL, P&G, Nestle and consumer durable brands already on board. The advertisers are easy, but its difficult to get inventory. Goosefish has investments from Network18 company Capital18 (via WebChutney), and there appears to be synergy between the DivaNation and Web18s portal IndiWo. The idea of a Womens Ad Network isn’t a new one – in fact, there’s been a trend of publications morphing into advertising networks. GlamMedia is perhaps the largest and the most famous of them all. Other significant international ad networks targeting women include iVillage and BlogHerAds.
Goosefish is also launching a travel ad network called Sindbad, which is going to take up inventory on Travel portals like MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Travelguru and the likes. We’ve heard that they’ve already got MakeMyTrip and Yatra on board as exclusive partners. Goosefish has a few sites as a part of its portfolio as well – including Alootechie (Indian Online Industry), Bombay Bitch
Another vertical specific ad network launched recently is Tonic Tag from the agency Ishir Digital, which is focused on technology sites and blogs. I think that comprises of a fairly significant number of highly involved users. Good time to start a gadget blog?
For over a year now, people have been considering a Federated Media kind of an advertising network, comprising primarily of premium blogs. The most difficult task, however, has been identifying and convincing bloggers to come on board.
I’m wondering if the launch of Vertical ad networks will actually help grow the advertising market, or will it just cannibalize on inventory from generic ad networks. Which other verticals do you think can support a niche ad network in India?
Update: Siddharth Puri has an interesting post here with details on how to evaluate an Ad Network.
Follow Up: Goosefish Media Ventures launches online ad networks
