Will Web Publishers Share Data To Better Target Ads?

A behavioral targeting company is recruiting Web publishers to pool audience data in an effort to run higher-priced brand advertising in site areas often turned over to direct response ad networks or house ads.Last week, New York-based Tacoda Systems said by April it hoped to stitch together a network of publishers that would use information about where users went on some sites to target ads to them on other sites. Tacoda, which has installed its targeting system on 2,700 Web sites, plans to sell the ad space across the network, splitting the revenue with the publishers running the ads and those contributing behavioral data to build audience segments. Though some publishers are skeptical of the value of such a network, the move has the potential to expand the reach of behavioral targeting campaigns for brand advertisers. Such campaigns are currently confined to individual sites, which makes it difficult for publishers to deliver reach for narrow audience categories. Audience-based networks that appeal to brand advertisers could also give publishers more lucrative options for their remnant inventory, rather than turning it over to third-party ad networks that buy it at low prices. "There's room for a quality provider, a trusted name putting together branded sites where there's a real connection," said Randy Kilgore, svp of online advertising sales for Dow Jones.Web publishers such as iVillage, Reuters and NYTimes.com have licensed software from Tacoda and rival Revenue Science, allowing them to run targeted brand campaigns using remnant inventory. However, advertisers complain that behavioral targeted ad campaigns confined to a single site often do not reach enough consumers. The Tacoda Audience Networks hinges on top sites allotting non-personally identifiable information about their users, such as sections of the site they frequently visit. When matched with Web surfing information from other network sites, Tacoda will look to qualify a user for one of 10 audience segments, from auto buyers to job seekers to travelers. For example, visits to a car information site and the auto section of a news publisher could be used by Tacoda to sell an automaker ads targeting those customers on different sites, like a weather or news site. Advertisers would get a list of participating sites but no guarantees that their ad will appear on specific sites."It behooves the publishers to participate in these networks," said Denise Garcia, a Garner research analyst. "They'll get more revenue in a behavioral targeting network than a performance network."Tacoda hopes the network will launch with a reach of more than 49 million Internet users, although it did not disclose a list of participants. "This will be a great way to increase CPMs across our sites," said Hayley Nelson, online business manager at AP Digital, which plans to participate in Tacoda Audience Networks. "The more we'd use this, the less we'd use remnant third-party providers." Matt McAlister, general manager of online at InfoWorld, which uses Tacoda's software, said the network could be "very fruitful," but he was cautious about sharing visitor data. "That's your whole thing as a media property, the value you create with audience segments," he said. "You have to get some sort of value from handing that over." Tacoda CEO Dave Morgan said the company would protect publishers from disclosing sensitive audience data by dynamically matching it and never transferring audience information to other publishers or building a database.Revenue Science declined to detail how it would help its publishers expand their reach, though svp Nick Johnson claimed the Bellevue, Wash., company has "premium brand publishers who are interested in how they can benefit from a network." He said the upturn in demand for online advertisers has convinced Web publishers that they can get more value out of their audiences."We have an open mind toward it," said John Kosner, svp of new media at ESPN, which uses Revenue Science's software. "In general, we at ESPN are going to be the ones selling ESPN inventory."

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Will Web Publishers Share Data To Better Target Ads?

Brian Morrissey

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