Commentary

Media Buyers Get Targeting Data In Real Time

Imagine having access to target data on 200 million Web site visitors in the United States, and gaining the ability to collect performance data on prospects beyond those you originally targeted. It could mean behaviorally targeting an audience you would never have expected to buy your product.

EXelate Chief Revenue Officer Mark Zagorski says the company can find those prospects outside the expected audience segment by populating pixels across multiple data points. The "multiple data points" become the key.

Invite Media customers now have access to all eXelate's targeting data to improve their display media, through Invite's buying platform Bid Manager.

The announcement made Tuesday gives Invite Media advertisers segmented data to take control of the buying process, with access to consumers' interest and purchase intent. There are about 100 data points total.

Zagorski tells me the Invite Media partnership represents the first complete integration where a company can access all the data in real time across multiple ad exchanges simultaneously. Integrations done through the media exchange and the demand-side platform allow Invite clients to plug into any of the exchanges and see the data, as well as run analytics through their own pixel.

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"Let's say you want to find 24-year-old Hispanic males interested in buying a car," he says. "You can identify the site visitor and buy them through Invite on a variety of data sources."

Think of the various layers: advertisers, agency, and display-side platforms, along with ad marketplaces, such as Right Media, Doubleclick, AdBrite, AppNexus, AdMeld, and PubMatic. Invite becomes the pass-through for data between eXelate and the clients.

Integration began about a month ago. Data feeds through the Invite platform to clients to target and find specific audiences. Invite also provides analytics in reports, telling clients the composition of the target audience. There are "dozens" of agencies using the data, Zagorski says.

Here's a little secret that will let you stick more in your piggy bank: "Advertisers who have direct plug-ins to DoubleClick and Right Media also have access to all the data," he says.

Bright Roll and other video companies that eXelate works with have access to all the data, too. But video sites rely on something Zagorski calls "real-time calling," where they call on each ad impression and eXelate send them the data about a site visitor. Rather than pushing the data, the video sites pull the data.

1 comment about "Media Buyers Get Targeting Data In Real Time".
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  1. Howie Goldfarb from Blue Star Strategic Marketing, January 27, 2010 at 4:24 p.m.

    First off great article Laurie and seeing these types of developments is exciting and also worrisome. There was a study (the first academic one of size) that showed 80% of people are freaked out over BT and over 50% thought if they don't opt into this the management of the BTer's should go to jail! My view is people should know when they use the web especially content for free there should be no issue with 'anonymous' data crunching. That being said:

    BT on the web has many challenges. Primary among them is banner ad click through response rates are ridiculously low. So the question is what type of digital ad are you going to serve in order to entice a response. Now if impressions are the most important and all you care is that eyes see your Ad, 22% of all non-mobile browsers are Firefox which allows Ad Blocking Software. Until I entered Advertising 2 years ago my entire extended family used Firefox with this Ad On, that 700,000 people download per week. All this makes BT on the web moot. And if moot your wasting money on it. In over a year I still have not had 1 agency or digital network confirm from my inquiries if Brands are charged for Ads blocked in this way.

    I think BT has its most value internally in the way Amazon and Netflix use data to recommend products, movies, or improve the 'unique' experience for everyone.

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