It is no secret that advertising is essential for website publishers to bring in revenue. Any thriving publisher must employ an Ad operations company or staff an Ad operations team to make this happen. Therefore, Ad Operations are a critical part of a publisher’s infrastructure. Website publishers need an Ad Operations team to support the sale and delivery of online advertising in order to prosper. But what exactly is Ad Operations? Through working with digital and online advertisers, arguably the advertising industry’s most lucrative cash cow to date, Ad Operations enable publishers to manage their ad campaigns and maximize revenue. Digital advertisers offer publishers display advertising (banner ads or rich media advertising), text advertising, search advertising, online video advertising, mobile advertising, and email display ads, all of which are unique opportunities for revenue generation. These opportunities are accessed through the processes and systems known formally as Online Advertising Operations or in the trade as “Ad Ops.”
What exactly does “ad ops” do?
Ad Operations teams input, serve, target, optimize, manage, and report on the performance and traffic of online ads. Ad Operations doesn’t leave the fate of a campaign to chance. After campaign launch, an Ad Ops team closely monitors the ads to ensure they are doing their job: make the website publisher money. A competent Ad Operations team monitors ad traffic continuously. It is an ongoing relationship that is tweaked and adjusted based on data collected by the invisible hands of the Ad Operations department, team, or company.
What is the ad operations team’s main objective?
But not every Ad Operations team is created equal. Some are separate entities and others are departments within digital content publishers or ad agencies. Whether it’s a solo group or distinct part of a larger company, the primary function of Ad Operations is the same: fulfill the ad campaign. What is the role of the ad campaign? To bring in and retain revenue. In more technical terms, Ad Operations implement the ad buy, the amount of advertising a client wants to run for a definitive window of time, which is dictated by the insertion order or “IO.” Ad Ops work with sales departments, advertisers, technology teams, and clients to ensure smooth delivery of the campaign. A good Ad Operations team “takes the temperature” of the insertion order regularly by generating ad server reports that communicate a campaign’s status and directly inform the team’s next steps.
What jobs are available in ad operations?
Because Ad Operations teams have a multitude of jobs they perform, companies staff a variety of specialists in the field that perform different roles: ad schedulers, ad traffickers, inventory management, yield management, vendor management, and technical operations. In more recent years, the industry has witnessed a shift from in-house Ad Operations teams to companies specializing exclusively in the delivery of Advertising Operations to publishers and agencies.
So… is an ad ops team important?
Ad Operations traffic ads and play an essential part in carrying out a website’s monetization plan. Without an Ad Operations team in the mix, website publishers could have the wrong ads peppering the pages of their site, stagnant ads, or an uninspired layout that lacks creative influence. Enlisting the services of an Ad Ops crew is no longer a decision some companies make; rather, it has become an integral part of the online industry.