Personalized Video Advertising Targeting

Ben Weinberger, CEO of Digitalsmiths, gave me this example... suppose a year or two from now you're watching an old episode of Seinfeld online. In this episode Kramer buys a new shirt. The video indexing engine decides that a clothing store ad would be most appropriate. It checks its clothing keywords against the ad networks. The ad network responds to the query with ads for blouses at Old Navy and suits at Saks Fifth Avenue. Which should display? Well, that's where I come in. Am I a man or a woman? Do I tend to wear T-Shirts to work or expensive suits? What is my general income level? If the site that's delivering this ad has a way to know my demographics and my specific preferences it can make a better decision about which ad to display.

But how does it get this information? Aside from my IP address, which might give them a rough idea about where I live, how does it know anything about me personally? Well, I can tell them. What?!? "You tell them?" you're thinking, aghast. That's right, I tell them.


We're all getting used to the fact that Google, credit card companies, TiVo, and all manner of websites track our visits. They plant cookies, store profiles, and recommend products based on past purchases. We're being profiled. At a certain level we have to just get used to it. But on another level we should be able to control it. After all, it's my profile, my preferences, my clickstream, my purchase history, my bookmarks, and my cookies. My digital profile is mine. Shouldn't I have the right to control it? Shouldn't I be able to add or delete elements of my profile? Shouldn't I have the choice of when, and if, I offer these details to the services I use? I say yes--and it's in everyone's best interest if we can control and use our profile intentionally.

This is the APML Workgroup argues. They're trying to develop standards for building personal profiles based on elements such as our browser history, email, documents, RSS subscriptions, and many other aspects that define our digital fingerprints so individuals can control them and websites can use them more effectively. Most of us already have various profiles out there. If you ever bought something at Amazon you have a digital profile. If you use Google desktop or iGoogle you have a digital profile. If you visit websites that plant cookies (and almost all of them do) you have a digital profile. But you can't control most of these profiles or how they are used.

But suppose you have an APML file that kept track of all these elements. Suppose you could opt to include or exclude any aspect of your profile. With your profile in hand you go to ABC.com, Veoh, Joost, YouTube or whoever to watch a video or TV show. Now, before you start watching stuff, you have the opportunity to use your APML on this site. If you do, the site will identify content that you would be most likely to be interested in, and will filter out any ads that you would certainly not be interested in. It might present you with special offers from advertisers whose products or services closely match your profile. Perhaps, since the content provider is able to more efficiently and effectively deliver the most appropriate advertising, it offers to "share the savings" in efficiency by minimizing the amount of advertising you see. Would you choose to give them access to your APML? If the site was authenticated by an organization like Attention Trust for compliance with usage and privacy standards (they don't store the info beyond your approved use; they don't sell it, etc.), would you feel more comfortable using your APML then? I would. Especially if I received other benefits and incentives as a result.

For website owners like Amazon, Google, Joost, Veoh, and YouTube it be easier and more useful to use these profiles rather than building their own limited profiles. It make their job easier and ultimately make their sites even better at presenting the most useful content and best marketing offers. And for the advertisers, this would greatly improve their targeting. And while we all love to hate ads, in reality it's the irrelevant, un-targeted, junk mail, intrusive ads that we hate. Give me a great incentive on a new car, when I'm in the market for a new car, and I don't hate that ad at all. It's a win, win, win.   next >