Is MediaBids.com an alternative of Google’s AdWords?

MediaBids.com, the Newspaper and Magazine Advertising Marketplace, has recently announced the addition of over 325 new newspapers and magazines to its print advertising marketplace so far in 2008, which much or less attracted out attention.

The company claims it has over 4,600 U.S. print publications registered on MediaBids to use their online processes to sell ad space in their print editions. Publications can sell ad space via two primary online methods – a straight-sales option and a reverse advertising auction. In the straight-sale format, publications can simply post available advertising inventory for sale in the MediaBids marketplace which is then immediately available for advertisers to purchase. The patented reverse-auction method allows advertisers to place their advertising dollars up for bid using a simple online RFP auction form, and publications can then bid using their ad space as currency.

The company is known to have started back in 2003 and for just 5 years they have enrolled an impressive number of newspapers and paper magazines. One may ask is this marketplace represents an alternative of the contextual ads Google offers through its AdWords program? Google is the ultimate online ads monopoly so it might be good there are such alternatives beyond the web ads. The company says it has over 12,000 businesses registered on MediaBids.com that purchase advertising, which is still a fraction from what Google AdWords has as a number of unique advertisers but MediaBids takes a different direction and that might be their major differentiator from the competition to distinguish themselves in the ad business. The online ad networks and ad exchanges are huge business but the space is lately becoming overcrowded and the competition is fierce there and perhaps we will witness some serious reorganization and consolidation within the industry this and next year.

MediaBids has no charge associated with registering a publication, posting ad space for sale or bidding on auctions.

“It’s exciting to see publications embrace MediaBids’ advertising marketplace, with the addition of more than 325 publications in the first two months of 2008. We hope to continue this rapid rate of growth throughout the remainder of the year.” said June Peterson, Director of Media Relations at MediaBids.com.

More about MediaBids

MediaBids.com is the premier marketplace for buying and selling print advertising. Advertisers and publications can interact to buy and sell advertising in a wide-variety of print media (newspapers, magazines, journals, directories, shoppers, newsletters, trade magazines, college newspapers and direct mail) using patented online tools.

Available Print Buying & Selling Tools
Advertiser Auctions – Advertiser auctions provide a platform from which advertisers can initiate a RFP (Request for Proposal) outlining their print advertising needs. Publications can place “bids” of ad space on the advertiser auction, which advertisers can then purchase. Insertion orders are issued to both parties after a transaction has occurred. The identities of advertisers and publications are known only to participating parties.

Ad Space Offers – Ad-space offers are advertising opportunities posted by publications on MediaBids.com that are available for immediate purchase. Offers can include rate-card pricing, last-minute remnant opportunities, added-value incentives or significant discounts. Advertisers can create a list of “Favorite Publications” from which they can choose to receive e-mail alerts notifying them of new advertising opportunities.

Traditional Media Buying – MediaBids works with publications both online and offline to ensure advertisers create and execute print advertising campaigns in the right publications at the right price.

How We Started
MediaBids, The Newspaper and Magazine Advertising Marketplace, was founded in Winsted, CT in 1999 to allow print publications to broaden their market reach in a cost effective way while giving advertisers a web-based system to purchase advertising in a competitive environment.

Since its online launch in 2003, MediaBids.com has become the leading online print advertising marketplace, bringing together more than 4,500 publications and 12,000 businesses on its web site. MediaBids’ easy-to-use platform has attracted a wide range of users, from small sole proprietorships to large national corporations.

Mission & Vision
MediaBids aims to simplify and streamline the print advertising process by providing a website that both centralizes relevant publication information and provides tools that enable both buyers and sellers of ad space to conduct transactions more efficiently. MediaBids’ vision is that with these tools, advertisers will increasingly view newspapers and magazines as a choice medium to promote their products and services – thus allowing newspapers and magazines to continue to be a viable information and social resource for our communities.

This story has been picked up from EPR Network.

More

http://www.mediabids.com/
http://express-press-release.net/47/MediaBids.com%20Adds%20Over%20325%20Newspapers%20&%20Magazines%20to%20Print%20Advertising%20Marketplace.php
http://express-press-release.net/12/Mediabids,%20the%20Only%20Online%20Print%20Ad%20Space%20Marketplace,%20Saves%20Client,%20Green%20River%20Prescription%20Assistance,%2082%20Percent%20On%20Newspaper%20Advertising%20Costs.php
http://express-press-release.net/45/MediaBids.com%20Conducts%206,500th%20Print%20Advertising%20Auction.php