- <\/p>\n
- \n1994<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The world’s first Banner Ad<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Although the previous year law firm \u2018Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe\u2019 purchased the first online clickable web ad, the first banner ad was in fact purchased by AT&T in 1994.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"first-banner-ad\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/first-ever-banner-ad.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The commercial web magazine, HotWired, sold the ad to AT&T for a price of $30,000 with a run time of three months. From then, the term \u2018Banner Advertising\u2019 was coined. The ad produced click-through rates of 44% and to put that into perspective, the average click-through rate of a display ad in 2019 is 0.35%.It was around this time that the concept of online advertising really blew up for publishers who were looking for a way to keep their content free.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The launch of Yahoo!<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Yahoo! was founded by students of Stanford University, Jerry Yang and David Filo, and was developed as a directory of websites organised in a hierarchy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"at&t\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1994-att.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"HotWired\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1994-hotwired.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n1995<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Online Display Ads became targeted<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Following the success of AT&T, online display ads became increasingly popular. Advertisers were looking for ways to better target ads, specifically targeting consumer demographics. Ad agency WebConnect, which was the first ad network, began to work with their clients to pinpoint the websites that their ideal consumers visit. Ads were then placed on these websites where by they were more likely to be seen by the most relevant audience. WebConnect also produced a tool to prevent \u2018ad fatigue,\u2019 which occurs when users are repeatedly shown the same ad. These developments were revolutionary in the digital advertising space. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n1996<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The rise in Ad Servers<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The rise in online display ads meant that advertisers were now looking for ways in which they could measure the results of their efforts. Advertisers needed a system that enabled them to display ads and track their performance to better target internet users. That\u2019s where DoubleClick came in – one of the world\u2019s first ad servers. At this point, it was not owned by Google; the concept had been developed by Kevin O\u2019Connor and Dwight Merriman. DoubleClick was one of the first on the scene to offer ROI tools for ad campaigns, enabling businesses to see if their money was being spent well. The emergence of DoubleClick meant that a new pricing model was introduced by Netscape and Infoseek (search engines) – cost per thousand impressions (CPM).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
IAB was founded<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) was also founded in 1996. The IAB was organised as a solution to streamline industry standards, conduct research and provide legal support for the online advertising industry. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"doubleclick\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1996-doubleclick.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"IAB\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1996-iab.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n1997<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Pop-up Ads & Blockers were developed<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The year that Tripod employee Ethan Zuckerman invented pop-up ads as a way to capture the attention of ad-blind users. Fortunately, they were quickly considered as intrusive and annoying. This then led to pop-up ad blockers being developed and installed, reducing their effectiveness. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n1998<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Introduction of the Google search engine<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The web was rapidly expanding and the number of websites was rising by the day. Users needed a way to easily navigate the web and as a result, search engines began to steadily gain popularity. Although other search engines existed, such as AltaVista, Lycos and Infoseek, this year saw the birth of the Google search engine – a player that, to this day, leads the digital advertising industry. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
GoTo.com paved the way for search advertising<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
By this time, the click-through rates had begun to drop on display ads. As a result, advertisers began to turn to paid search and Pay-per-click advertising. The Search Engine Goto.com pioneered the keyword auction model with a search engine where the results were determined solely by which listing had the highest bid on a term. Goto.com would later become Overture before morphing into Yahoo search marketing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The very first adtech acquisition<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Microsoft pays $265million for LinkExchange, an early form of online advertising network based off the concept of a webring.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"google](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1998-google-search-engine.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"GoTo.com\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1998-goto.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"LinkExchange\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1998-link-exchange.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n1999<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
DoubleClick buys NetGravity and Abacus Direct<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
In two separate acquisitions, DoubleClick swallows up adserver company NetGravity and market research firm Abacus Direct. The resulting combination of technology, reach and data puts DoubleClick in a strong position to establish dominance in the growing online advertising sector.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"netgravity\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1999-netgravity.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2000<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The Dot Com Bubble booms<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The Dot Com Bubble peaked in 2000 as a result of colossal speculative investment in the industry. Many investors were eager to invest after seeing the exponential progress of the internet. Paid search engines, such as Yahoo, paved the way for other powerful online advertising models.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Birth of Google AdWords<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
This year saw the birth of Google AdWords (Now Google Ads), which was developed as a solution to the user experience of paid search that was suffering due to corrupt results. The intent of AdWords was to develop a sponsored search experience that didn\u2019t compromise the quality and relevance of search results. This was achieved through Google\u2019s Quality Score model which is still used today.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"AdWords\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2000-adwords.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2001<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The Dot Com Bubble bursts<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The value of internet-based companies had already began to rapidly decrease towards the end of 2000. This meant that in 2001, the Dot Com Bubble was bursting. Many online shopping companies, such as Amazon, saw an astronomical drop in share prices, whilst others simply failed and shut down. One company that survived and prospered the Dot Com bust was Google. Google took the opportunities that the Dot Com bust had to offer and flourished from it, filling the space that the existing players had left behind.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2002<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The invention of first ever Ad Blocker<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The code was written for Adblock – the first widely available adblocker. The battle between publishers and ad blocking<\/a> begins.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Yahoo! tries to acquire Google<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
The former CEO of Yahoo! Terry Semel put in a bid of $3 billion to acquire the digital giant, which Google consequently rejected.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Google AdWords adds PPC option<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
In 2002, Google revamped their AdWords program, introducing the option to advertise with them through the use of a pay-per-click (PPC) model. Google’s PPC model differed from others in that users could not buy their way to the top, as Google focused their model around ad relevancy and a better user experience.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2003<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Google acquired AdSense<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Google AdSense<\/a> came along in 2003, initially operating under the name \u201cContent-Targeted Advertising\u201d – but Google wasn\u2019t alone in this arena. \u2018Applied Semantics\u2019 was also competing in the contextual ads sector operating under the AdSense name, until April when Google acquired the company.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"applied](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2003-applied-semantics.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"google](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2003-google-adsense.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2004<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Google’s first Initial Public Offering<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
In an attempt to raise $2.7 million, Google held their first Initial Public Offering.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The launch of Facebook<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Mark Zuckerberg and fellow Havard students launched Facebook – initially known as “TheFacebook.” In March, Mark Zuckerberg told his college newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, that \u201cIt might be nice in the future to get some ads going to offset the cost of the servers.\u201d Around one month later, ads were launched promoting companies that sold products to college students.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AOL purchases Advertising.com<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Formerly known as America Online, AOL purchased Advertising.com for $435 million, which highlighted the company’s new focus on advertising-driven business models.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"thefacebook\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2004-thefacebook.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2005<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The launch of YouTube<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
This year marked the launch of what was set to become the world\u2019s largest video advertising platform – YouTube. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"youtube\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2005-youtube.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2006<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
YouTube launches Video Ads<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
YouTube dips their toe into advertising by launching two models: Participatory Video Ads (PVA) & Brand Channels.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Google purchases YouTube<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Google saw the opportunity and purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion. This was also the year that Twitter was publicly introduced. Social media gained real prominence as advertisers experienced specific targeting to internet users from certain demographics or with certain interests, who were considered to have genuine potential as consumers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Content-Recommendation Ads are born<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
This year saw the launch of Outbrain\u2019s content discovery platform, which uses algorithm-based technology to target relevant content to certain users.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2007<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Google acquired DoubleClick<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Google acquired DoubleClick for $3.1 billion, software that would indefinitely transform the online advertising industry.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Facebook offers targeted ads<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
This year also saw Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduce Facebook Ads to enable businesses to connect with users and target their ads.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2008<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Facebook introduces Engagement Ads<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Facebook introduces Engagement Ads to capture users attention. This allowed users to make comments on the ads, share with friends or become a fan of the business being advertised.<\/p>\n
YouTube features more ways to advertise<\/h2>\n
In 2008, YouTube launched their first pre-roll and promoted Video Ads.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Microsoft attempts to acquire Yahoo!<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
In an attempt to take on the digital giants, Microsoft puts in a bid of $44.6 billion to acquire Yahoo!, who consequently rejected their offer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2009<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Google launches DoubleClick Ad Exchange<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s new display advertising marketplace, DoubleClick Ad Exchange<\/a>, was launched.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"doubleclick\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2009-doubleclick.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2010<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The birth of Instagram<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Photo and video-sharing social networking service, Instagram, was launched.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Twitter introduces promoted tweets<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Promoted tweets are launched by Twitter to allow users to reach a wider audience and spark greater engagement from existing followers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"instagram\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2010-instagram.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2011<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Celebrities are paid to advertise through Twitter<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Businesses began to see the value in recruiting celebrities to promote their brands and services to their huge followings. Sponsored Tweets really began to take off with celebrities such as Charlie Sheen, who was the first person to reach one million followers on Twitter. Shortly after, he began to engage in promoted tweets through Ad.ly.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"twitter\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2011-twitter.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2012<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Native advertising is on the rise<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
As the advertising market grew and the number of companies advertising through the internet multiplied, advertisers began to look for less conspicuous ways to promote their products that actually augmented the user experience. Because of this, the use of native advertising was on the rise due to their ability to obtain higher CTRs and better engagement. This was also the year that Facebook filed for their first Initial Public Offering.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2013<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Facebook acquires an advertising platform<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Facebook acquires the advertising platform Atlas Solutions from Microsoft for an estimated $100 million. <\/p>\n
Instagram releases promoted posts<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Instagram introduced their sponsored post feature, allowing users to run ads by promoting posts that have been previously shared on Instagram.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"2013](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2013-atlas.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"2013](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2013-instagram.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2014<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Pinterest begins offering advertising services<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Social media advertising continues to grow as platforms, such as Pinterest, become players through the introduction of offering promoted services to businesses.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
![\"pinterest\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2014-pinterest.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n2015<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
AppNexus introduce Prebid.js<\/h2>\n
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![\"AppNexus\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2015-AppNexus.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"gdpr\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2018-gdpr.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"google](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2018-google-ad-manager.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"ico\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2019-ico.jpg\")
<\/p>\n