The big question in ad targeting is whether the future has been worth it.
While advertisers in the past ran ads for cars next to automotive content, in the modern practice of audience targeting, advertisers direct ads at users based on their behavior, demographics and location. It’s the difference between running an ad for a new model of BMW on an automotive site, or showing it on many kinds of sites to users whose attributes indicate they’re in the market for a luxury car.
A new report from contextual ad firm GumGum, Contextual Advertising: The New Frontier (free, registration required), indicates that more U.S. advertisers use content-based or contextual advertising than employ targeted ads. However, they’re rediscovering the virtues of ads matching the surrounding content.
[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]
About The Author
Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.