NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Is targeting a bad thing when everyone does it??
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Is targeting a bad thing when everyone does it??
Michael Hunter Morath (mmorath_at_nscnet.com)
Wed, 27 May 1998 17:39:01 -0400
Keith Pieper wrote:
>
> First, I'd like to clarify the levels of targeting. The internet is
> not a mass medium. It enables 1:1 and should be bought that way.
>
> Segmentation
> Most of what we've been exposed to to-date has been "segmentation"
> type of targeting. Essentially, lumping people in groups with similar
> characteristics.
...
> This works fine for many marketers. But some advertisers require more
> sophisticated 1:1 targeting...
I'm not too sure I agree with Keith on this one, but I certainly think
he's pointed in the right direction. The Internet is absolutely a
medium that allows for mass-customization and mass-targeting (as opposed
to standard mass market advertising). And, theoretically, the Internet
also allows for 1:1 targeting. But I don't think we'll ever see that
level of complexity pursued for a couple of reasons...
The nature of Internet targeting up to this point has been much like the
nature of a choose-your-own-adverture book. There are a variety of ways
to proceed through the story, but choices are limited by what the author
has had the time to write. Similarly, every instance of Internet
targeting is based on the same concept -- where an author has developed
a page (or a page section) that allows for a great deal of permutations.
In most cases the pages are only altered in minor ways -- a different
banner, or perhaps some subsection of the page with updated content --
but the essence is still the same.
If the Internet were truly to get down to the 1:1 level, content
developers would have to devote ENORMOUS resources to the varied content
creation. Furthermore, the targeting methods themselves would have to
be far more complex than they are today... But this is certainly in the
realm of possibilities.
Quazi 1:1 targeting via the computer comes about only with fairly
sophisticated neural-net software implementations & a tremendous amount
of data, mined from a variety of sources. But even this remains
segmentation based targeting: the computer still uses heuristic-like
programming routines and a warehouse of data on users to make a content
serving decision to provide a relatively small ratio of targeting (but
certainly not 1:1). The only way to get true 1:1 targeting is to have
every piece of information on every single user -- which is well out the
realm of possibilities for any one firm, and usually an impossibility
for networks of companies.
Certainly the ratio of targeting will decrease as web site
cartels/networks begin sharing their data on consumers, and as data
mining becomes more and more sophisticated. Whether this is good for
you depends upon whether you view this as the next generation of
marketing or the manifestation of some Orwellian nightmare. I tend to
look at it as a little of both.
However, I'm pretty positive that true 1:1 targeting is an Internet
myth. The Internet will be a market segmentation powerhouse... but a
real 1:1 ratio? Real 1:1 targeting, as far as I'm concerned, can not
occur in any economically viable fashion if you are attempting to serve
content to people you've never met.... and even then, its most assuredly
difficult to offer 1:1 targeting. Its as if your web site must
say--just as the old general store operator years ago--"Hey bob. Good
to see you again. I see you got yourself a new horse buggy. You'll
need some paint for that. I got some black in, cause I know you like
it... of course, your wife doesn't like that color, so here's some nice
light red that you can both agree on." We're fooling ourselves if we
think data mining and computerized heuristics can match the breadth of
the human brain.
Mike Morath
--
Next Step Computing, Inc.
http://www.nscnet.com
(888) 404-STEP
An Internet application developer serving medium and large corporations.
Let our intranets, extranets, e-commerce, and advertising-oriented web
sites harness the power and reach of the Internet for your company!
--
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