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ADCENTRICITY takes aim at consumer targeting for DOOH

ADCENTRICITY is launching "probably the most powerful digital out-of-home targeting solution" in the market.

April 11, 2011 by Christopher Hall — w, t

ADCENTRICITY co-founder and CMO Jeff Atley has some bold words to offer about his company's new consumer targeting tool for advertisers and brands.

"Really," he said in a recent interview, "this simply is probably the most powerful digital out-of-home targeting solution that's been developed."

Location-based digital ad network and planning platform ADCENTRICITY today announced the launch of its Consumer Sync targeting solution for digital out-of-home media. Consumer Sync incorporates data on consumer behaviors, psychographics and purchase intent, and allows advertisers to target campaigns to the consumers most likely to act on the advertisement, the company said.

According to the announcement, Consumer Sync includes more than 10,000 consumer profile variables that, when aligned with a brand's campaign objectives, can deliver a customized DOOH targeting solution.

Through Consumer Sync, marketers can target their solutions to consumers based on their lifestyles, marketplace preferences, media habits and psychographic values, the company said. The consumer profile variables are powered by Nielsen PRIZM segmentation system for the U.S. market and Environics Analytics PRIZMC2 for Canadian markets.

Consumer Sync covers 20 major categories, including Alcohol & Tobacco, Apparel & Jewelry, Automotive Products, Automotive Services, Electronics & Computers, Finance & Insurance, Food & Beverages, Gas Credit Cards & Chains, Grocery Chains & Coupons, Hardware & Appliances, Health & OTC Drugs, Home Furnishings, Home Improvements, Media, Restaurants, Retailers & Shopping, Sports & Leisure, Telecommunications, and Travel.

"What's happening here is we're taking the ability for marketers and agencies to utilize digital out-of-home to target their advertising to consumers who are in the market to buy their products and services," Atley said. "We're going beyond a demographic profiling and saying, 'We're looking to hit women 25 to 34 in the top 10 DMAs who make a household income of X.' What we're able to do now is say, 'Okay, if this is that smartphone product that you're launching in July, we can really get in and drill down, even down to the location and ZIP level of who's in the market to buy a new smartphone in the next three months."

With the new solution, ADCENTRICITY now has a methodology that interprets how networks actually target that campaign based on where those people live and where the venues for DOOH are, he said.

The company can even delve into consumers' psychographic profiles and their media consumption behaviors, giving advertisers a very deep understanding of the consumer insights and behavior needed to create a methodology for targeting digital out-of-home in a completely new and unique way.

The solution uses consumer segmentation data from Nielsen and Environics, as well as data from an array of third-party data providers, he said.

"It's not like we've gone out and created this alone," Atley said. Instead, the company has worked with Nielsen, Environics, third-party data providers and vetted methodologies to make them "applicable for digital out-of-home consumer targeting."

And in the beta testing and market evaluations that the company's been doing with agencies and brands for the last several months, he said, the response has been "phenomenal for Consumer Sync and how it changes their ability to work in the space."

According to ADCENTRICITY, a major U.S. auto manufacturer recently used the beta-test stage Consumer Sync for targeting and evaluating DOOH as part of its media strategy:

As part of the strategy, seven makes and models were identified and cross-sectioned against 25 competitive makes and models. The resulting plan delivered to the client was a comprehensive national targeting solution designed to intercept consumers most likely to purchase the competitive automotive brands. Essentially, Consumer Sync determined which consumers were in the market to buy a competitive make and model versus those in the market for the auto manufacturer's model. Going one step further, the auto manufacturer incorporated tier-two dealer locations and applied recency and trade area segmentation in order to integrate localized dealer promotions.

All of which sounds great, but how does it actually target someone who is actually in the market for a new smartphone?

"Basically there's a methodology that this translates into and the output that it translates into for evaluation and targeting decisions is output into a market potential index," Atley said. "So really we can do this across North America and apply the methodology to all the different venues and screens that are out there, for consumers who have the highest propensity to buy certain products."

One of the great features of the solution is that it uses known indices, so it's not a new index but rather a new way of actually using them that hasn't been done before, he said.

"The challenge is the complexity of the different environments, different screens, different venues — they can't all be treated the same," he said. "It's taken us a while, but really this simply is probably the most powerful digital out-of-home targeting solution that's been developed."

All of which will only help digital out-of-home as a medium, he said. When networks can go beyond demographics and do a market potential index and target people "who will drink five to 15 Coronas this month; that's how specific we can get."

That's where it really gets exciting, Atley said, because it becomes "very, very relevant and very aligned" with the brand's own campaign and business objectives."

"The agencies are able to work with this, and it gives huge rationale and justification to present to their brands or clients ... to really justify this through and support it through in their pitches to their clients," he said.

"This gives them all of that artillery to actually bring forward and have that rationale and that justification for the investment."

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