FULL Circle has rolled its online arm into a new network called Cogs Media, which aims to simplify the advertising process on the so-called long tail of the internet.

Cogs Media is supported by an automated digital system it claims will allow people to plan, book and place an online campaign, potentially across hundreds of websites, in minutes.

The company is owned equally by Brian Gallagher's Full Circle Media, media company SComms, which has also contributed websites it represents to the network, and Cogs, which is licensing its technology to Cogs Media.

Cogs Media will be headed up by David Mallam, who has a background in website development sales and golf club management and who developed the Cogs Digital platform with developers James and David Craig.

"This will create what is in theory the biggest advertising network, (with) about 60 or 70 internet sites," Mr Mallam said.

"Compared with other ad networks, we can put together thousands of sites, not just 30 or 40, for advertisers. "There is no limit to the scale we can have with this system."

But advertisers and digital media agencies will be able to book campaigns across industry categories, such as sport or the golf channel, as well as by audience demographics.

Mr Mallam said the automated technology and the classification of sites into multiple categories and demographic groups would enable the network to sell advertising spots on niche publishers' websites more often, over time driving up the price that publishers could charge.

Meanwhile, companies advertising across groups of sites would reach more people who often spent more time on niche websites that catered to their interests than on the big portals.

"The ad networks don't value the publisher, they value the space," he said.
"It's all about equality for both partners in the business equation."

Darryl Nelson, digital media research manager at Frost & Sullivan, said that while selling advertising across channels and audiences was not new, the self-serve technology was.

"Generally, on the ad networks side, the campaign is booked and run by the publisher," Mr Nelson said. "(The) self-service platform is quite revolutionary. That's where the performance networks have had an advantage."

Leigh Terry, who heads media agency OMD's digital arm, said the automated technology would allow Cogs to work with advertisers that were too small to use an agency.

"The technology is Cogs's unique selling point," he said. "It's not unique (in that) Google has got lots of agencies working with it, as well as direct advertisers."

It is understood that Telstra, a client of OMD, has been among the first advertisers to trial the network.

"Agencies spend 80 per cent of budgets on the big portals and about 20per cent on the ad networks," he said. "It's almost the reverse in terms of the time they spend allocating that budget."

You only have to believe in the possibility. And it will be delivered!                     

Sent 15 August 2007