Digital marketing company 24/7 Real Media Inc. this week announced its partnership with four prominent publishers to launch an online business-to-business advertising network. BBN is the joint creation of Cygnus Business Media, Nielsen Business Media, Reed Business and McGraw-Hill.

Included in the network are web sites of equally prominent publications, such as Construction Equipment, Adweek, Aviation Week & Defense Technology and CPA Technology Advisor. The network attracts almost 10 million monthly unique users (60 percent of the audience is small business owners and decision-makers). BBN includes more than 200 web properties.

Now including BBN, 24/7 Real Media's offerings are comprised of more than 1,500 sites. 24/7 Real Media's network attracts about 150 unique viewers each month and it offers targeting solutions such as lifecycle management, search retargeting, geo-demographic, content, behavioral, retargeting and custom.

BBN will use Open AdStream, 24/7 Real Media's proprietary ad serving and campaign management platform to the targeting and delivery of ads to web sites.

Online ad networks certainly aren't anything new or revolutionary these days. But this particular offering could still make a huge impact on online advertisers who target the b-to-b space and want to align with these major publishing brands.

However, one interesting note is that this isn't the first time Reed has participated in an ad network. In fact, it had its own. The publisher launched the Reed Partner Network last year, and the network included both Reed Business and non-Reed web sites. BBN could actually have been considered a competitor to Reed's own network. As a result, the Reed folks say that the Reed Partner Network will cease to operate as a separate unit by the end of the month.

Exposure is key in advertising. But too much isn't a good thing.

Comment