Find The Article Here: MediaPost.com Blog Posting

Here it goes folks; another network acquiring a behavioral targeting technology. Collective Media “has acquired Personifi, a provider of audience targeting technology to Web publishers, ad networks and mobile providers.” Long and short of it is in the network space you’ve got two approaches to behavioral targeting

a) Verticalize your sites – i.e. only sign on publishers within your target market (Travel Ad Network, SportsAdMarketplace, Gay Ad Network)

b) Focus hard on content classification – this is where having a strong ad ops team comes in, you’re tagging needs to be effective, but content classification provides better reach than pure verticalization, and this is the route Collective and a few of the other major players are taking (see: Platform A)

For the networks, it’s going to be all out reach, always. This is a very solid move on Collective Media’s part – the networks all have audience in one form of another, but audience is only as good as your ability to classify, the mass media technique isn’t working (see: the collapse of TV ad dollars and billboard spend) – by acquiring a proven technology that effectively targets Collective will be able to deliver higher ROI to the advertisers. And that’s the name of the game.

If you want to know more or discuss this further with me, feel free to reach out...

Sean Weinberg | Sean@aclion.com

Article By: Sean Weinberg (Sean@aclion.com)

Take a look at the ClickZ Article: Five Ways to Avoid Misinterpreting Consumer Behavior

Here’s the skinny. Behavioral Targeting is great, real great; if companies think instead of react.

It’s a theme I’ve been hearing more and more lately – everybody is into behavioral targeting, and it’s not that hard to track consumer behavior, so why are some shops so much more successful than others?

The answer is simple: A one off ain’t enough.

In today’s consumer market (especially within an interactive context) consumers simply aren’t putting that much thought into what they do on the web. I read an article on a Britney Impersonator (the catch is the Britney impersonator is a Brit-He) about 5 minutes ago, it’s outside of my typical browsing experience but I know I’m going to start seeing a different kind of ad from that one click through. Marketers need to think hard about the relevancy of data sets before banking on them. The shops that are succeeding are the ones that took a fuller look at consumer behavior.

Anna Papadopoulos, interactive media director for Euro RSCG 4D, offered 5 suggestions on how to interpret consumer behavior.

• The behavior pattern is essential. In and of itself, a single behavior is meaningless. For example, just because someone visits an automotive site doesn't mean she's in market to buy a car. However, if this person (cookie) visits an automotive site regularly or several automotive sites in a short time and clicks to various similar sections, then a pattern of behavior emerges that can be targeted effectively.
• Get off their backs. Once a behavioral pattern has been established and acted on, advertisers need to either maintain the communication or get off consumers' backs. This is also done by observing behavior. Are they clicking on ads? Are they still researching the same product? How long are consumers typically in market for this product? Think about it in personal terms: you wouldn't keep calling a prospective date if he or she never returned your calls (unless you want a restraining order placed against you).
• Consumers are paranoid. Consumers want great deals, but most of the behavioral targeted ads available are generic, offering little more than tipping off consumers that they are being targeted (which makes them paranoid and wondering where they were caught). Bottom line: provide value and be transparent.
• Know your product and audience. If the average purchase cycle for your product is three weeks or if it's seasonal, targeting consumers out of this time frame (without any acknowledgment back) not only is a waste of money but will also deter future prospects when they are back in the market.
• Be flexible. Like my twins, no two consumers are the same. Therefore, be willing to offer unique offers and messaging to various consumer groups. For example, if you target sedan buyers on a predominantly woman-oriented site, provide messaging that would speak to this segment and not the same recycled creative running across the rest of the campaign. What's important to women? Are they moms? How will they be using this product?

I’ll keep you posted next week on what kinds of ads I’ve been seeing lately and how they are related to my online behavior. Shoot me a line if you have any good ‘bad targeting’ stories to share – I’ll post those up too.

Article By:Sean Weinberg (Sean@aclion.com)

Source Article Found In New York Times:
Leftover Ad Space? Exchanges Handle the Remnants

I read an interesting article in the NYTimes today....

Joe Zawadzki’s traders spend their days in front of two computer screens, feeding their systems with data and trying to perfect their trading algorithms.

But they are not analyzing stocks. They are analyzing advertising.

What they are measuring is activity on advertising exchanges, where companies bid to place their online ads on space provided by publishers. As advertising exchanges gain popularity -- Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have all moved into this arena recently -- Madison Avenue is borrowing tactics from Wall Street. [...]For now, Mr. Zawadzki is using the exchanges to buy and sell ads instantaneously as opportunities arise — a spot market, in Wall Street lingo — but he is working on more complex trading strategies.

Of course they’re only about a year late on these developments; but the article does a nice job of explaining the exchange space, and more significantly, pointing out the future of internet advertising, namely Media Trading. Conceptually there’s no reason this won’t work. But, media trading will require a loosening of control that publishers have historically been loath to part with. And the exchanges are time consuming and still bulky. It's noteworthy to point out...

In 2007, exchanges sold about 15 percent of the remnant inventory, and about 5 percent of online display advertising overall, according to ThinkPanmure, a research and financial services company. Most of the other 85 percent was sold through networks.

For 2008-2009, we’ll see how this plays out….