Wired published a piece on the coming of online zip + 4 ad targeting, made possible by your ISP and third parties such as Feeva:
As websites continue to push for higher advertising rates, similar to what print publications command, this technology could allow them to boost their rates slightly. Every bit counts.
Juniper Networks, which sells routers to ISPs, plans to start selling them add-on technology from digital marketer Feeva that affixes a tag inside the HTTP header, consisting of each user’s “zip+4″ — a nine-digit zipcode that offers more accuracy than five-digit codes — delivered in coded form that is readable by participating ad network partners (updated). Juniper hopes to sell the software to ISPs starting this summer, having announced a partnership with Feeva earlier this year.
What this greater location accuracy in the browser permits is offline demographic data (census, etc.) to become part of the online targeting paradigm. That’s already happening but with only limited accuracy. I’ve been writing about this for roughly the past three years:
The revelation for brands is that they’ll be able to target their audiences and prospects using location: local targeting = demographic targeting in this potential not-too-distant future. If it actually comes to pass, it will instantly become the most important non-search ad targeting online. Behavioral targeting will continue to be used (assuming it’s not regulated out of existence). But as Feeva likes to point out, BT isn’t scalable.
The ad networks will also tap into this “data ecosystem” to offer more accurate local-demo targeting. Beyond demographic targeting you just get better location targeting as well: retail offers going to people within driving distance of a store, etc.
This zip + 4 proposition flips the entire local ad paradigm on its head: rather than an SMB vehicle it becomes the way that the Fortune 50 reach new customers online. More accurate location in the browser or from the ISP “unlocks” all the offline census, Prizm and direct mail data that have been in use in the traditional media world for years.
The Wired article goes into the privacy question. Indeed ISP level behavioral targeting died in the UK and US. However the “beauty” of the system is that all the location data are entirely anonymous.
Digital Envoy, Urban Mapping, Placecast and several others are circling the space beyond Feeva. If it truly happens on a national scale it will be a big, big deal.
June 29th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
[...] 2 – Social Search, Three-Word Queries and More Location, Location, Location Wired offered a piece this week on the growing momentum behind Zip+4 targeting online, which would add an [...]
August 4th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
This should be opposed by all Internet users, in the same way as they have already opposed spyware-in-the-network companies such as NebuAd and Phorm.
Cisco – which provides the API and card slot for this spyware system – should not allow its routers to be abused in this way.
Disgraceful!