local advertising made as easy as shopping online
browse and buy advertising opportunities in Los Angeles, Orange County and Ventura with an easy-to-use, comprehensive catalog
View a comprehensive marketplace of advertising options.
Filter ad spaces based on type, market, and cost.
View important details about any given ad.
Chat with and buy from ad sellers.
built for…
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entrepreneurs
You’re a small business or startup owner without much advertising experience. You know it takes time and money, so you’re either not advertising at all, doing minimal advertising or paying someone to do it all for you. But you’re an entrepreneur. You’re smart and resourceful. If there were an easier, quicker and less expensive way to do your own advertising, you’d do it.
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in-house marketers
You have a small team and budget. You might not even be a full-time marketer; it’s just one of the many hats you wear. You don’t have an army of interns who can go find the best advertising opportunities, get media kits and rate cards, etc. So you’re sticking with a couple advertising methods, even if there are better options out there.
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ad agencies
Your account coordinators spend tedious hours per week working with sales reps, updating spreadsheets and collecting media kits and rate cards. It’s hard to give clients fresh and curated media mixes. A marketplace featuring all the inventory you could want, plus an easy way to go all the way to IO and invoice, would give you and your clients a big edge.
no more…
wasting time and energy searching for advertising opportunities, sales reps, media kits and rate cards.
settling for the same old advertising strategies and media mixes because you don’t have alternatives.
wondering if you’re buying the best ads and reaching the right audiences for your business.
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Ants & Aphids is an online marketplace where brands work directly with ad space sellers in the Los Angeles, Orange County and Ventura region to advertise themselves.
Ad spaces include: TV and radio, influencers, newsletters, websites, stadiums, shopping malls and grocery stores, Metro buses/trains and stations, print newspapers and magazines, Little League and local concert sponsorships, etc.
Ants & Aphids is NOT an advertising agency or consultant. We do not set up or manage campaigns, do media planning or buying, or contract with clients on strategy or execution. We are a software provider that gives businesses and their vendors the tools to do advertising more effectively.
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Local advertising is like searching for a needle in a haystack. It’s a time-consuming, tedious process. Searching for all the advertising options that are out there, gathering the info you need about each one, keeping up with changing costs and discounts, getting in touch and going back and forth with sales reps… it’s a lot. That’s why many businesses stick to one or two marketing channels even if they would get more ROAS (return on ad spend) elsewhere.
Quality control in local advertising is hard. Some media and influencer brands are household names that don’t actually change customer behavior or have inflated numbers; others are ones you’ve never heard of but directly reach your target audiences and have true influence with them. Many businesses haven’t seen real return on their ad spend, so they don’t even try.
We’re giving you a big magnet to find the high-quality needles in the haystack. We’re taking out all the busy work, so you can focus on advertising that works.
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Small business owners who want to DIY their advertising. You know your business, target audience, and ideal customer profile the best. You’re entrepreneurial and unafraid of hard work.
Marketing teams who want more efficient ways to get better ROAS. You know how tedious and time-consuming direct buys are. You want better ways to do media planning and buying.
Agencies and freelancers. You have clients who want to advertise in the LA, OC and Ventura markets. You want to make direct buys more efficiently and easily.
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Ants and aphids are two species that coexist in mutualism. Ants get nutrients from aphids, and aphids get protection from ants. They both benefit from mutual cooperation.
That’s a lot like the relationship between advertisers and the ones selling ad space. We exist to make it easier for them to work together.
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Step #1: Join the waitlist. We’ll get in touch with you.
Step #2: Create an account. You’ll get a free trial so you can try the tool for yourself.
Step #3: Browse and buy ads by searching for what you want, contacting sellers directly, and processing payment online.
Rinse and repeat. Consistent, ongoing marketing is the best kind of marketing.
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Choose either single campaign or subscription: $250 to set up a single campaign. $1,000/year for an annual subscription.
We take a small commission: 2.5% of all ad sales.