Behavioral targeting is expected to grow by 468 percent for U.S. ad expenditures by 2012. At the end of 2008, behavioral targeting ad spending was $775 million. By the end of 2012, it should reach $4.4 billion (David Hallerman, “Behavioral Targeting: Marketing Trends,” eMarketer, June 2008). Consumers’ online activity keeps growing every year, and more and more transactions are being conducted online. This activity gives marketers more and more data to analyze and use to their benefit. One of the latest trends involves taking past behavior to model future behavior (or predictive modeling, which is knowing what consumers will do and the steps they will take before they even take them). Advertisers are increasingly concerned with their ROI, and technology will help them get there by delivering their message to the exact audience they seek.
Behavioral targeting offers insight into customers’ behavior patterns that can directly impact the way we deliver our messages. However, it is important not to limit all advertising to this one source. Legislation may limit the growth, and behavioral targeting could go away altogether. It is critical to learn what we can from our consumers to make our advertising programs more robust. But when consumers feel their privacy has been invaded, this only causes larger problems. Consumers have to feel that advertisers’ products and services are a solution to their problem. This ultimately will cement the relationship.
