Old guard adopting web ad initiatives

25th March 2008

Traditional media companies are increasingly launching tailored ad initiatives in a bid to rival online giants like Google in the web marketing sphere, a new report observes.

The latest company to make such a move is Forbes, which the Associated Press reports is to begin selling ads to about 400 finance blogs this spring.

Known for its flagship bi-weekly publication Forbes magazine the publishing company is also responsible for BusinessWeek and Fortune.

According to the news provider, the formation of sector-specific ad networks enables conventional media presences such as Forbes's peers Conde Nast and Viacom - both of which have recently announced similar moves - to assert their ability to match Google and Yahoo!'s ad success.

Sarah Chubb, president of Conde Nast's online division Conde Net, told the news provider that the firm had been approached by web companies eager to combine their own advertising nous with the traditional firm's content expertise.

However, Ms Chubb maintained: "We're pretty good at selling advertising, too."