Online audience profile targeting
For many years we have only had cookie-based tracking data to rely on when trying to determine a general profile of the users browsing the web. But the later years we have seen new profiling capabilities that helps marketers lift this veil of secrecy and deliver individualized messages to consumers.
According to a new article in The New York Times, companies such as Acxiom and Datran are now able to incorporate offline consumer information — including income, credit score, home ownership, and the like — into their data profiles. This higher level of consumer understanding can help marketers tailor messages more directly to consumers.
However in Denmark, Gemius have enabled agencies to target audiences this way for several years. Gemius gives us reach and affinity etc. of defined target groups on the largest Danish web sites (277 at the moment). The data collection method is a mix of online and offline interviews and targeting options include: Age, Gender Job title, No. of Children, Household income, Car ownership, Interests, online shopping frequency etc. etc.)
Of course consumer advocates are increasingly concerned that the additional access to demographic and behavioral information can be misused. Paul M. Schwartz, a law professor and privacy expert at the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, said the unwitting participation by consumers makes online marketing different from offline. “Interactive media really gets into this creepy Orwellian thing, where it’s a record of our thoughts on the way to decision-making,” he said. “We’re like the data-input clerks now for the industry.”
Source: imediaconnection.com, Gemius.com & The New York Times
