What's your target?

This past week I participated on a panel on behavioral targeting at the Online Media, Marketing and Advertising (“OMMA”) Conference in Hollywood, CA. It was interesting to see the difference in the perspectives of marketers, agencies and publishers, as each addressed behavioral targeting and their own methodology for creating what they believe to be the “secret sauce.” Despite the different perspectives, most companies offering behavioral targeting have one thing in common: they are “horizontal” in nature and primarily focused on reach. Although I agree that it’s important to have reach in order to achieve sizeable behavioral targets, the data gathered across most horizontal networks is most often transactional and contextually irrelevant to a user’s lifestyle. Behavioral targeting efforts are best optimized across vertical networks where the data gathered is by far richer and more relevant than that within its horizontal counterparts. The value of vertically-focused behavioral targeting, which has the benefit of looking at transactional data, user declared data and behavioral data sets over a longer period of time is huge. Take for example the value of gathering data about users who plan to participate in particular sporting events, at specific destinations, at certain times of the year. At Active Athlete Media, we refer to these users as “Racers.” With this knowledge, we’re able to target ads that are most relevant to these Racers (i.e. gear, travel, lodging, etc.). And knowing the date of the sporting event allows us to initiate this targeting 6-12 months before the big day. For example, to Racers identified as registrants of the 2007 Paris Marathon, which takes place in March, we can start targeting ads for the best running shoes, the most competitive air and ground travel, and the most conveniently located hotels in Paris, anywhere from March to September of 2006. Consider just how powerful this data is and how it affords vertically-focused, behavioral targeting companies the opportunity to connect with users at the right place and time.