To an old git like me, one of the main sales points of the Internet when it was first achieving wide spread recognition was that it appeared to be like a country without borders, a level playing field on which anyone could have a game. The Internet or more properly the web was going to change everything, allowing equal access to information whether you were an accountant in Nairobi or a farmer in Nantwich.

Well content and data is available the world over, but it appears that not all audiences are viewed equally in how they can contribute to a sites success. Today many of the leading content sites have significant audiences in countries other than that in which they originate. This appears to be particularly true for English language sites, which of course can be read the world over. With the huge disparity in populations though it is perhaps no surprise that many leading British (and Irish) newspapers find so much of their web traffic originating in North America and particularly the US.

For sites like the Telegraph and The Daily Mail, I don’t think that it would be unexpected if nearly 50% of their inventory was generated internationally. This though is a problem if your traffic is global, but your advertising local. Despite the much touted march of globalization, most advertising, even web advertising is bought and expected to be delivered locally. Seemingly understanding this, according to the NMA it looks like the Mail at least is going to be looking to make the most of its American footprint by putting people on the ground to sell locally, see the NMA article here.

Presently most international inventory if it is handled at all is handled by specialist agencies. The problem is that then this will be a network sale or buy, leaving little chance for negotiation for premium rates. It can also be argued that whilst content can be of interest across borders, advertising has a much greater need to reflect local brands and preferences. International inventory as many publishers have found has been a double edged sword, a larger audience, but not much in the way of enhanced kudos with the advertisers and agencies. It appears that for the time being, a low tech solution still potentially offers the highest returns.

Rob…

Blogger/Founder On-e.