- Mike Shields, Mediaweek

NEW YORK Despite the debate over whether ad networks represent a danger to the online advertising and publishing businesses, a new survey indicates that more marketers are likely to increase their spending in the embattled sector -- though the survey was commissioned by one of the up-and-coming players in the space.

In its third-annual study of the online ad network market, Collective Media found that among top decision makers, 89 percent said they plan to spend dollars with ad networks in 2009, up from 5 percent last year.

Collective is one of several companies claiming to have built a network specializing in premium inventory geared for traditional brands. It tapped Sterling Research Group to survey nearly 500 online media executives in February and March of this year to compile the report.

Among Sterling's other findings: more than half of those surveyed said they intend to allocate 15 percent of their Web ad budgets to networks, while nearly a quarter plan to spend 30 percent of their dollars with networks.

Perhaps not surprising was the complaint among respondents that there were simply too many ad networks --  71 percent said so. In this era of tightening ad budgets, 70 percent said they plan to limit their spending to just one or two networks.

More surprising was the number of respondents (over 50 percent) who claimed they use ad networks for both branding and direct response -- given the sector's lingering reputation as a tactic best suited for DM initiatives.

While ad networks fared well in Collective's research, their cousin -- ad exchanges -- did not. The vast majority of those surveyed (85 percent) said they do not currently work with exchanges, and just 7 percent predicted that exchanges would ultimately replace ad networks.

Source: Mediaweek.com