Re: Profiling through WinWin technology platform

From: Rosalind Tan <rostan_at_singnet.com.sg>
Date: Mon 30 Jul 2001 13:17:29 -0500

MARCO TREZZI <marco.trezzi_at_wmap.it> WROTE:

> In this dicussion list I had never read nothing about
> this type of profiling system. Why? You don't belive
> in this micro-targeting online ad campaigns model?

TO WHICH JIM NOVO <jim_at_jimnovo.com> REPLIED:

>Food for thought:

> 1. What if customers lie about their demos? How
> "targeted" does this make their profile?
>
> 2. People who chase contests, games, and so on with the
> promise of a reward are generally low value customers to
> all but a specific few businesses - those that also
> offer rewards for behavior.
>
> 3. Observed behavior is not "inferred", it is reality.
> Profiles created by people who seek reward are inferred
> - you infer they are telling the truth and want something
> besides the reward. They often don't.
>
> 4. I for one most certainly do believe in micro-targeting
> online campaign models, as long as they are targeted to
> actual, rather than inferred, behavior and not to
> demographics. If I pay to advertise to a group of people,
> what I really care about is their likelihood to buy my
> product, not how old they are or their sex.
>
> People who have made online purchases in the past are the
> most likely to buy again in the future, regardless of their
> demographics. The only way to get this information is to
> observe purchase behavior, which I would guess, is less
> intrusive than asking someone how much money they make.
>

microtargeting in theory is great, however, few people
understands the concept and even fewer offer the
right product with the right reach.

Yes, profile targeting to declared demographics is
good, but as Jim Novo explains in his 'food for
thought', these situation are REAL.

So the best solution to date is Anonomouse Profiling.
That is: profiling internet users behaviour on the
internet (anonomously, we don't know their email
address...etc) and deliver specific ads to their
specific interest. So if a person has gone to an
automobile site regularly, then in the ideal world,
where-ever they go on the WWW, they'll see a car ad.
Currently the two companies that i know offer such
microtargeting is Doubleclick and Engage. They have
the reach for such anon. profile to be relevant and
applicable to advertisers.

The next microtargeting product that these 2 companies
offer are 'Boomerang' and 'Echo' respectively. In
essence, they are very similar in function. For
instance, if someone has bought a Business book in
amazon, he will be cookied such that wherever he goes
in the WWW, a specific ad will appear to him, eg.
'Buy your next biz book in amazon and get the next
free". If he as never bought anything in amazon,
he'll see an ad eg 'Amazon, the best online bookstore
in the world'.

I think the only 2 problems i see in such
microtargeting is that u'll need to advertise using
a network with big reach, and that their ad delivering/
targeting technology will rely on cookies. Small
problem but could be significant for advertisers
targeting people who always clear their cookie files.....
(side question: who clears their cookie files regularly?
Not me!)

Rosalind Tan



Received on Mon Jul 30 2001 - 13:17:29 CDT