Behavioural Targeting: Because You're Special (And Likely to Click)

It's 2015, just after lunch. Activating my computer with a grunt (grunt recognition rocks!), I whistle the first three notes of 'Meet the Flintstones' to summon up Web search. There's still lots to do before tonight's party: order powdered booze, hire a robo-DJ and waiter 'droids, and book hydrogen rickshaws to whisk tipsy guests home post-fete.

A holographic browser display hovers above my coffee cup, studded with links to personalized video ads for my fave bands, bike parts, health snacks and travel destinations. As the "pow" of "powdered" departs my lips, a titillating 3-D projection of toga-clad vixens appears. They're drinking powdered gin—Mumbai Sapphire, my favorite brand. A 20% off coupon pops up. I tap my PIP (Personal Impoverishment Device) to buy a case. One holographic lovely confirms my address for immediate delivery, thanks me by name and winks provocatively.

That it all happens so seamlessly is no accident. Behavioural targeting (or 'BT' as it's also known) is the natural evolution of demographic profiling—compiling enough info about a certain group to form a hypothetical aggregate "personality" of a typical member—and then marketing to this fictional composite.

(Early on, I was pegged a "Trailing Edge Male Boomer / Information Seeker /Active Eco-Weenie / Heavy Consumer—Alcoholic Beverages). Well before I'd posted that Facebook profile, marketers had started collecting, measuring and collating info about my every preference.

Since that time, they've tracked my purchases, recorded my every download, tracked and timed each of my visits to their clients' and competitors' sites, then cross-referenced them all with my regular Web browsing habits. Their goal: to hit me with stuff I'm interested in, when I'm most likely to make or consider a purchase.

But whereas contextual marketing uses search keywords and phrases and Web page content, to determine which ads are served, BT focuses on my very own preferences and habits. It really took off in the first decade of the millennium, when primo brands like Coca-Cola and GM began shifting their adspend from traditional media to the Web. Why? BT advertising generates bigger gains.

Naturally, the Net's very biggest players viewed BT as a natural extension of their online target marketing, and so they bought themselves specialist marketers: Microsoft paid $6 billion for aQuantive, Google bought DoubleClick ($3.1 billion); Yahoo! got Right Media ($680 million); and AOL paid $275 million for Tacoda. These consortia now know what I want before I want it.

Back then, eMarketer estimated that US spending for BT online advertising would skyrocket from a mere $775 million in 2008 to $4.4 billion four years later. How conservative those projections turned out to be!

For better or worse, behavioural targeting is now part of the Internet experience, with every ad and commercial email appearing on your screen for very sound business reasons. When we welcomed it ('08 polls affirmed a widespread willingness to click on additional, better targeted ads), marketers rejoiced: BT offered better returns than contextual advertising (where ads appear in relation to the content displayed), and publishers easily peddled what would otherwise have been undersold or unsold ad inventory.

BT really exploded when Internet providers started to sell their customers' usage data. What a gold mine! In return for their dissection of our online lives, they promised new services "to personalize our browsing experience". We kept paying them subscription fees, but in hindsight, we might've thought to ask what exactly it was that they were gathering.

Then mobile phone providers started selling call and GPS records that revealed—among a million other intrusive things—which stores we'd phoned and visited. Advertisers cranked up the BT dial to retrieve customers back from the competition.

With all this personal info being gathered, sold and manipulated, are we risking too much? (Hearken back to TJX's 2007security breach which compromised over 45 million credit and debit card numbers.) With mountains more data piling up today, scammers, phishers and hackers recognize opportunity—we may be targeted more than we know.

Has behavioural targeting actually made the Internet more "relevant"? Considering that I'm online for reasons besides shopping, I loathe the ubiquitous commercialization, fear identity theft, am tired of the Net continuously calling my name. Nevertheless, judging by my (well charted) behaviour, I'll willingly sacrifice my anonymity for a smokin' good deal…as the friendly lady in the toga appears to know so well.

(Submitted by Seth Klapman for 'Business Thompson Okanagan' August 2008 issue)

Have you any questions or comments? Can we help you at all with your Internet-based marketing needs? Please contact:

Seth Klapman, Marketing
Acro Media Inc.
103 - 2303 Leckie Road
Kelowna, BC, CANADA
V1X 6Y5
tel: 250.763.8884
fax: 250.763.6936

Acro Media Inc. (acromediainc.com) is an interactive agency that professionally delivers four main solution sets:

Ecommerce solutions—for product sales.
Corporate sites—for lead generation.
Showcase design—for brand building.
Portal sites—for community building and member services.

With a decade’s experience and team of 33, Acro Media ably provides:

Acro Media guarantees their work, and builds W3C valid search engine friendly Web sites.

Behavioural Targeting: Because You're Special (And Likely to Click) August 15, 2008 Kelowna, BC
Behavioural Targeting: Because You're Special (And Likely to Click) It's 2015, just after lunch. Activating my computer with a grunt (grunt recognition rocks!), I whistle the first three notes of 'Meet the Flintstones' to summon up Web search. There's still lots to do before tonight's party: order powdered booze, hire a robo-DJ and waiter 'droids, and book hydrogen rickshaws to whisk tipsy guests home post-fete. A holographic browser display hovers above my coffee cup, studded with links to personalized video ads for my fave bands, bike parts, health snacks and travel destinations. As the "pow" of "powdered" departs my lips, a titillating 3-D projection of toga-clad vixens appears. They're drinking powdered gin—Mumbai Sapphire, my favorite brand. A 20% off coupon pops up. I tap my PIP (Personal Impoverishment Device) to buy a case. One holographic lovely confirms my address for immediate delivery, thanks me by name and winks provocatively. That it all happens so seamlessly is no accident. Behavioural targeting (or 'BT' as it's also known) is the natural evolution of demographic profiling—compiling enough info about a certain group to form a hypothetical aggregate "personality" of a typical member—and then marketing to this fictional composite. (Early on, I was pegged a "Trailing Edge Male Boomer / Information Seeker /Active Eco-Weenie / Heavy Consumer—Alcoholic Beverages). Well before I'd posted that Facebook profile, marketers had started collecting, measuring and collating info about my every preference. Since that time, they've tracked my purchases, recorded my every download, tracked and timed each of my visits to their clients' and competitors' sites, then cross-referenced them all with my regular Web browsing habits. Their goal: to hit me with stuff I'm interested in, when I'm most likely to make or consider a purchase. But whereas contextual marketing uses search keywords and phrases and Web page content, to determine which ads are served, BT focuses on my very own preferences and habits. It really took off in the first decade of the millennium, when primo brands like Coca-Cola and GM began shifting their adspend from traditional media to the Web. Why? BT advertising generates bigger gains. Naturally, the Net's very biggest players viewed BT as a natural extension of their online target marketing, and so they bought themselves specialist marketers: Microsoft paid $6 billion for aQuantive, Google bought DoubleClick ($3.1 billion); Yahoo! got Right Media ($680 million); and AOL paid $275 million for Tacoda. These consortia now know what I want before I want it. Back then, eMarketer estimated that US spending for BT online advertising would skyrocket from a mere $775 million in 2008 to $4.4 billion four years later. How conservative those projections turned out to be! For better or worse, behavioural targeting is now part of the Internet experience, with every ad and commercial email appearing on your screen for very sound business reasons. When we welcomed it ('08 polls affirmed a widespread willingness to click on additional, better targeted ads), marketers rejoiced: BT offered better returns than contextual advertising (where ads appear in relation to the content displayed), and publishers easily peddled what would otherwise have been undersold or unsold ad inventory. BT really exploded when Internet providers started to sell their customers' usage data. What a gold mine! In return for their dissection of our online lives, they promised new services "to personalize our browsing experience". We kept paying them subscription fees, but in hindsight, we might've thought to ask what exactly it was that they were gathering. Then mobile phone providers started selling call and GPS records that revealed—among a million other intrusive things—which stores we'd phoned and visited. Advertisers cranked up the BT dial to retrieve customers back from the competition. With all this personal info being gathered, sold and manipulated, are we risking too much? (Hearken back to TJX's 2007security breach which compromised over 45 million credit and debit card numbers.) With mountains more data piling up today, scammers, phishers and hackers recognize opportunity—we may be targeted more than we know. Has behavioural targeting actually made the Internet more "relevant"? Considering that I'm online for reasons besides shopping, I loathe the ubiquitous commercialization, fear identity theft, am tired of the Net continuously calling my name. Nevertheless, judging by my (well charted) behaviour, I'll willingly sacrifice my anonymity for a smokin' good deal…as the friendly lady in the toga appears to know so well. (Submitted by Seth Klapman for 'Business Thompson Okanagan' August 2008 issue) Have you any questions or comments? Can we help you at all with your Internet-based marketing needs? Please contact: Seth Klapman, Marketing Acro Media Inc. 103 - 2303 Leckie Road Kelowna, BC, CANADA V1X 6Y5 tel: 250.763.8884 fax: 250.763.6936 Acro Media Inc. (acromediainc.com) is an interactive agency that professionally delivers four main solution sets: Ecommerce solutions—for product sales. Corporate sites—for lead generation. Showcase design—for brand building. Portal sites—for community building and member services. With a decade’s experience and team of 33, Acro Media ably provides: Web site design & development. Ecommerce & software integration. CMS & dynamic Web site solutions. Internet marketing & SEO. Online branding & corporate identity. Flash, interactive & motion design. Acro Media guarantees their work, and builds W3C valid search engine friendly Web sites.
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