New Tools For Advertising

Digital technology continues to provide marketers with new ways to find and reach better audiences.

SMART ADS
Smart ads are electronic ads that are automatically matched to an individual consumer’s needs based on demographics and on-line behavior. The result is highly relevant advertising at a low cost. For example, United Airlines has increased on-line ticket sales by matching destinations and special fares to people based on their search behavior. Ask Yourself: Could we use smart ads to increase the effectiveness of our on-line ad campaigns?

SPARK ADS
Spark ads are relevant electronic ads that are automatically sent to consumers immediately after they perform a search based on the content of their search. For example, a person might type in the phrase “diet cereal” and get a pop-up ad for Special K on the next page they visit. Ask Yourself: Could we use spark ads to increase the effectiveness of our on-line ad campaigns?

AUDIENCE MODELING DATABASES
Audience modeling databases use powerful on-line databases to create targeted audiences based on specific buying behavior. For example, AC Nielsen merged its Homescan database with Yahoo!’s user database to create Consumer Direct, an on-line service that allows advertisers to create highly targeted audiences for their products. Procter & Gamble, Pepsi, Cadbury-Schweppes, Johnson and Johnson, Nestle, and General Mills have all experienced success that can easily be measured with this tool. Ask Yourself: Could we use audience modeling databases to increase the effectiveness of our on-line ad campaigns?

SURVEY-BASED AUDIENCE MODELING
Survey-based audience modeling allows marketers to create custom audiences using on-line surveys to identify people’s attitudes and interest. For example, Nestle Purina ran surveys on Yahoo! to determine what type of pet people were interested in and their attitudes and interests regarding pets. Yahoo! used the audience profiles derived from the surveys to create a customized audience for each Purina market segment. The result was superior ad performance measured by increased engagement, action and sales. Ask Yourself: Could we use survey-based audience modeling to increase the effectiveness of our on-line ad campaigns?