Advertising has always been about demographics and profiles. Direct online advertising is surely no different—on your monitor and in your face. But the business has just taken it up a notch. The time when advertisers booked in advance may now be history.
As reported by the New York Times recently, digital giants Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft now have the most current online technology that can supply the one crucial factor, that of immediacy. Advertisers can now post their advertising messages, direct to specific, target audience, at the exact moment required.
The technology is called real-time bidding, and it allows advertisers to buy ad space within milliseconds. “Real-time bidding allows advertisers to examine site visitors one by one and bid to serve them ads almost instantly,” the New York Times article states. Of course, who wants to test the patience of the user-target by slowing down streaming? Contact from seller to buyer, to posting—it is message to eye coordination, in the blink of an eye.
How does it work? Take eBay, for example. For a year now, eBay has been testing an application from AppNexus that monitors a user, and by its site visits, creates a profile of the user. It then tracks the user, and when the user goes online to check a fave site, i.e. drum kits, eBay can immediately post ads of drums and cymbals, etc. From there, eBay tracks the user for purchases. If the user purchases, say, a snare, eBay can then immediately post ads for drum sticks, and the like.
System-designers like AppNexus can even designate gender-specific colors and motifs. Big Brother is indeed watching.
So far, bulk- and advance-buying is still the standard. With real-time bidding, however, the game has changed. But the technology is expanding rapidly, and its impact is huge. On outdoor advertising, with digital eye-tracking already in the market, real-time bidding on billboards to target specific pedestrians and commuters can be immense.
The New York Times article further states, “While companies have been plugging real-time bidding for a couple years, industry heavyweights are now behind it. Goodle introduced its revised DoubleClick Ad Exchange, offering real-time bidding in September. Yahoo! is testing the process on its Right Media Exchange, and Microsoft on its AdECN exchange.”
That’s the good news. But there’s more. “Bidding is good news for publishers, because advertisers are willing to pay more for targeted ads,” the article continues. Already, studies show a trend where 50% to 130% higher prices sold through real-time bidding, compared to ads sold traditionally. “Advertisers say real-time bidding cuts down on wasted money. (It is the) use of less media because of using more selected, more efficient media,” the New York Times quotes Edward Montes, Havas Digital North America managing director.
For ad bidding, AppNexus, for example, considers the user, as well as the number of ads it has encountered in the course of the length it has stayed online. Crucial to conclude whether target is receptive to the ad.
The New York Times also states that, “… some marketers and online publishers suggest real-time bidding might revive a sluggish market. Spending on banner ads declined 2.3% I 209, to US$4.76 billion, while spending on search rose 2.2% to USR10.78 billion,” quoting research from eMarketer.
Prior to real-time bidding, available technology was not enough to produce the right message to its target audience at the best time. Real-time bidding has just expanded the business of online display advertising.
(source: NYTimes.com 2010/03/12/business/media)
adobo magazine. The Word on Advertising.
