This document discusses managing online advertisements on websites. It begins by outlining trends in online advertising spending and formats. It then introduces ad servers as tools that facilitate relationships between advertisers and publishers by managing ad campaigns and placements. The document focuses on using the open-source ad server OpenX to generate revenue for Balboa Park Online Collaborative through banner ads on its website and kiosks. It provides steps to set up an OpenX account and manage ad campaigns.

1. Ad Value | Pt 1. Managing an Ad
Server for Your Website
Maren Dougherty, Director of External Affairs
Balboa Park Online Collaborative
@MarenReport, @BPOC_SD, @BalboaPark
APRIL 17, 2013
Museums and the Web Conference
Salon H
BALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE
Innovative | Collaborative | www.bpoc.org

2. State of Online Advertising

3. Ad spending
Source:
h*p://qz.com/75181/mobile-­‐adver<sing-­‐is-­‐soaring-­‐while-­‐newspapers-­‐con<nue-­‐their-­‐inexorable-­‐decline/

4. By “Internet,” we’re saying…
Source:
h*p://qz.com/75181/mobile-­‐adver<sing-­‐is-­‐soaring-­‐while-­‐newspapers-­‐con<nue-­‐their-­‐inexorable-­‐decline/

5. Important Trends
Mobile
Video
Sponsorships
…digital
video
ad
spending
will
con1nue
to
post
the
strongest
gains—though
it
is
star1ng
from
a
much
smaller
base.
Source:
h*p://www.emarketer.com/newsroom/index.php/digital-­‐ad-­‐spending-­‐
top-­‐37-­‐billion-­‐2012-­‐market-­‐consolidates/#VAM38ekPXFQfqZ4v.99

6. We are all publishers

7. Ad servers facilitate relationship
between advertisers & publishers
Adver<ser
Campaign
Banner

8. Ad servers facilitate relationship
between advertisers & publishers
Publisher
Website
Zone

9. Other Terms to
Know
Ad rotation
CPM (cost per thousand
impressions)
CTR (click through rate)
Insertion Order
Run-of-Site
Targeting

10. Why use an ad server?

11. Make $
Develop new source of unrestricted
revenue
Augment existing programs (e.g.,
event sponsorship)

12. Market Your Org
Highlight different
programs from your
institution across the site

13. Experiment
Test new ads

14. Collaborate
With other nonprofits
or media outlets

15. Ad Server Technologies
OpenX
Doubleclick
Rich Media
Zedo
Adtech
Epom
Helpful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_ad_servers

16. OpenX
Open-source ad system
Banner management interface & tracking system for
gathering statistics
Enables website admins to rotate banners from in-
house ad campaigns as well as from paid or third-
party sources
www.openx.com

17. Case Study | Balboa Park

18. The Vision
Sustain Balboapark.org
(+ related initiatives)
through online
advertising revenue

19. Reach
• 1.3 million unique visitors annually
• 7.5 million pageviews annually
• 70,000+ social media followers
• 7,000+ email subscribers
• Thousands of on-site
visitors through the
Balboa Park kiosks &
mobile guides.

20. Design
Website redesigned
in 2010
Drupal CMS
back-end

21. Design

22. Attempted Media Ad Partnerships
San Diego News Network
SanDiego.com
San Diego Magazine
Voice of San Diego

23. Another Try
What do advertisers want?
(Maybe banner ads are just part of the equation)
How low can we go?
(Can we compete with banner ads served in a bulk
amount via ad networks?)

24. Needed: A Great Pitch
Who do you reach?
+ Families
+ Brides
+ Active, involved locals
+ Tourists
+?
What are all of your assets?
+ On-site components
+ Professional networks
What partnerships make sense for your brand?

26. Progress
Advertisers:
Balboa Park cultural institutions
San Diego Zoo
San Diego wedding vendors
San Diego hotels
Organizers for private events held in
museums & other venues
Partners:
San Diego Magazine
Voice of San Diego

27. Kiosks
We also manage the ad server for outdoor kiosks
that are operated by another park group.
Kiosks = trickier
Ads go to pop-ups
instead of external
sites
Needed to add
GA event tracking
code

28. Future Plans
About those trends…
Mobile
Video
Sponsorships

29. OpenX | Getting Started
1- Identify where the ads will go (Zones)

30. Getting Started
2- Download & Install the OpenX Ad
Server
You will need:
- PHP support
- MySQL or PostgreSQL database
Detailed instructions:
http://www.openx.com/docs/qsg-install

31. Getting Started
3- Add your website to OpenX & create
necessary zones to which ads can be
linked
OpenX generates the code that you can paste
into your website’s HTML
Detailed instructions: http://www.openx.com/docs/qsg-firstcampaign

32. Getting Started
4- Load & serve your first ad campaign
Create a new advertiser
Create a new campaign
Upload banner ads (+ set properties)
Link the ads to zones
Detailed instructions: http://www.openx.com/docs/qsg-firstcampaign

33. Administration
Can have multiple admins
with various levels of access
OpenX tracks activities

34. Campaigns
Types of campaigns
Contract, contract – exclusive, remnant
Priority level
1-10

35. Reports
Stats available by website & zone
Can see # of impressions (per day, week, month,
etc.) and click-through rates

36. Resources
ClickZ
(for those of us with
lazy math brains)
http://www.clickz.com/
cpm-calculator
IAB
(for standards)
http://www.iab.net/
guidelines

37. OpenX | Demo Time!

38. CONTACT
MAREN DOUGHERTY, DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
BALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE
Phone: (619) 819-9200
Email: mdougherty@bpoc.org
http://www.bpoc.org
BALBOA PARK ONLINE COLLABORATIVE
Innovative | Collaborative | www.bpoc.org