Alloy Signs with Web 2.0 Firms

It’s become an increasingly common move for small to mid-sized site owners to create ad networks, generating more inventory by partnering with sites and services that may not be well staffed in ad sales. WPNI did it recently. So did Glam Media. Add to the list Alloy Media + Marketing, which has signed with several hot “2.0” properties to offer ad and promotional opportunities targeting teens and twenty-somethings.

The services in question are Meez, which offers 3D avatars; RockYou, a provider of “dynamic tools for self expression” on social nets; and BlockSavvy, a social network with a mostly African American audience.

AM+M is not strictly an online ad-driven business. It also offers promotional, word of mouth, event marketing and out-of-home services. And it’s promising to offer some of these channels to its new media partners, so we’re seeing the definition of ad network morph a little bit here as well.

Marketing programs on the sites will extend the reach of AM+M’s existing in-house properties, which include Alloy, Delias, CCS, Sconex and educational sites for college-bound high schoolers and recent grads.