When Less is More   

When online advertising began to gain momentum sometime around 1999, one of the key value propositions expected to drive results was "targeting". As with many standard terms that evolve into buzzwords, "targeting" has meant many things to many people, though the general concept of targeting is broadly accepted: identify people that are ideal to receive advertising, in an effort to find people most likely to be interested in a product or service. Two main methods of targeting online evolved - one based on publishers' content and one based on consumers' characteristics.

Targeting based on consumer profiles was an exciting development that was unique to the web (i.e. it is very difficult, and in many cases impossible, to do that type of targeting in traditional media). Sadly, the technology seemed too complex for the market and the promise was never fulfilled. Many providers of one-to-one targeting no longer offer such services.

The targeting concept based on serving ads within a contextually relevant environment (e.g., serving ads for cosmetics in the health & beauty channel, or dog food ads on the pet channel) has become a reality. The technical challenges are minimal compared to complex profile targeting, and the results have shown that the hypothesis is correct - targeted ads are more effective.

While those attempting to target by profile can be admired for taking risks to achieve a grand vision, it appears that those who opted for a simpler, more easily executed strategy (content targeting) achieved the intended result.

molly@dynamiclogic.com

iVillage on Advertising Effectiveness: Raising the Bar

While it is more important than ever for online advertisers to demonstrate ROI, publishers are also under greater pressure to demonstrate advertising value. A publisher must prove not only that it attracts the right audience, but also employs ongoing third-party research on its advertising effectiveness.

Even if a site outperforms others in terms of unique monthly visitors, (iVillage has nearly 15 million per month¹) it is equally important to demonstrate how effective the ads are, and how much better they can be - especially in the right context.

iVillage is one of the best places on the Web for advertisers to reach a female audience, and ads running on iVillage consistently perform better than Dynamic Logic norms. Not satisfied with resting on its laurels, iVillage knows that historical performance is only part of the picture. Constant optimization and acting as an ongoing advertising consultant to clients is critical.

This latest study shows that targeted buys on the Internet are a more effective way to impact an audience than non-targeted campaigns. iVillage discovered that purchase intent and brand awareness, for example, were raised more than 100-300% respectively on targeted placements versus run of network. Further, costs on iVillage to run a targeted campaign average only 25-33% higher than run of network campaigns. By communicating these cost-benefits, publishers can earn more ad revenue and show the advertiser better results - what's the downside?

Publishers must be exhaustive in their efforts. It is not enough to say that iVillage is the best place to reach women, or that another site is the best place to reach Gen Xers, or baby boomers. It is critical to show why, and more so to show how to reach them even better on your site.

¹Source: Media Metrix January 2002

dreichig@mail.ivillage.com