The Polk Blog

I figured it would happen sooner rather than later, so I say 'finally.' Search is converging with a larger data ecosystem to strengthen both text and display advertising for advertisers and digital marketers. There isn't a whole lot of detail yet, but according to my sources, Google has code named a service "DDP" that is using their rich Google Audience Network click data with their Adwords data to serve targeted non-contextual site specific text ads.

I'm assuming their running this through...Read More »

The privacy situation in digital marketing is so fluid that there is no way the U.S. Congress will ever be able to come up with a set of rules that will last for any reasonable amount of time. Already, this country has spent the last two years (at minimum) in legal harangue over the reasonable expectations of targeting via the cookie-based model. Enter IPv6 to complicate the privacy issue with more vigor. There are a couple of issues at play that make Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)...Read More »

In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) holds the promise of integrating all things navigable, sociable and mobile...able into a vehicle. The possibilities hold great promise. Acceptance and demand for manufacturers to make cars with embedded systems has grown with an increase in technology acceptance, and now the connected consumer is expecting a connected car. Chrysler's UConnect, Ford's Sync, and BMW's iDrive are all great examples of systems that OEMs have installed to make the driving experience as...Read More »

I'm noticing that, in life, things tend to come full circle. Put another way, the pendulum will swing back to the opposite side, eventually. Whatever metaphor or analogy you want to use, some behaviors or axioms make sense and no matter what external factors temporarily change them - they always come back around. In digital marketing circles, location is re-entering the lexicon as a cornerstone of marketing strategy. There was a time in the early oughts when the big buzz was about content, and...Read More »

Whenever I put the letters A, O and L together I get an ear tightening dial tone and unmistakable coordinated series of clicks and pops following what sounds like a loud quick-dial of random numbers. Guess what, AOL does other things than force us to access the internet through their subscription service with CD's constantly being sent to our homes. It's true they've successfully navigated through a serious downturn to become relevant with hyper-local acquisitions like Patch; tech sites like Enga... Read More »

In case you missed it, Google's Droid Operating System (OS) is dominating smartphone sales. The open Software Development Kit (SDK) and digital marketing platforms allow developers to go wild making cool apps, while hardware brands can tweak the software for differentiation between phones, creating continuity and customization in one base OS. More importantly, advertisers have found that working with the Google technology is easier and potentially more lucrative, since we learned last year that...Read More »

The automotive industry has taken to social media very well in the past 12-18 months. Campaigns such as the much heralded Fiesta Movement, the Chevy South by Southwest (SXSW) Road Trip Challenge and the Ram re-brand strategy I wrote about last year have helped engage brand enthusiasts while making fans out of non-loyalists. Nissan is looking to generate loyalty within their own cutomer base via their Be an Auto Show Reporter user-generated content campaign.

The contestant must make a 30 second to...Read More »

A colleague sent me an article, recently, titled 'Five Ways Media Data and Analytics Are Changing' written by Dave Morgan, CEO of Simulmedia. Though refreshing, it was somewhat shocking to read the CEO of a media agency being so effusive about the affect data has on his business. He offered up five main points.

First, the article discusses how data analytic tools are 'bigger, better, faster and cheaper.' This trend has driven innovation up, and costs down, to the tune of 1/100th the cost at 100...Read More »

It looks complex, but actually it's really simple. Publishers have pages they want to monetize. Agencies have ads they want to place. Advertisers want their ads to be seen by the right audience. It's a trifecta of enablement!

Thus, the advertising ecosystem has developed itself into a technology driven real-time bidding environment to increase the value of remnant ad inventory. Remnant (non-premium) inventory is advertising inventory that is not sold by publisher's direct sales teams. Usually...Read More »

Even though still in its formative years, online advertisers have gone through multiple data sources to reach the proper audiences with their messages. Search advertising used keywords; display advertising has used context, click (behavioral) data, publisher data and the ever popular retargeting data to reach online audiences most efficiently. Polk, along with our partner DataLogix, thought, "why don't we use industry leading consumer data and analytics to reach the right audiences"?

Well, that...Read More »

In the last 'Where You At?' installment, we discussed the growing social networks based on geo-location technology mixed with social media sharing, and how it's changing the conversation for businesses. The latest iteration of the proximity phenomenon finds itself on the web. This is curious to me, because web users are supposedly concerned about data privacy, deleting cookies, and generally keeping their click habits to themselves.

There are a number of sites and programs that blow the above...Read More »

Companies like Yelp, Foursquare, and Gowalla have forever changed the digital marketing landscape with their proximity check-in and geo-location "friend spotting" services. For whatever reason, some people like their friends (and some random strangers) to know exactly where they've been, where they are, and possibly create charts about where they will be in the future. Alright, maybe that last one was going a little far but still, the digital marketing landscape will be forever changed by what I...Read More »

In science it might be called a catalyst or accelerant, but in the automotive industry we'll call it a driver. We here at Polk can never seem to get enough of that chart making stuff - often referred to as data. Data is the key building block to good decision making, and that fact has never been more true than in today's digital marketing and advertising environment.

Data, it has been noted, is the key to driving interactive advertising's growth. The ability to use data to identify markets and...Read More »

Since the proliferation of smartphones, people have gone application crazy. Digital marketing in the mobile space has thus become more fragmented than a candy cane shattered inside of its' cellophane wrapper. Advertisers are faced with the decision of whether or not they should take a risk and only write code for Apple's iOS application based platform, or extend it to CSS3, JavaScript, C++ and HTML5 code for multitudinous device access. 

It's no secret I'm not a huge fan of Apple, Steve Jobs,...Read More »

Yes, it is true. While I don't claim ministerial prowess or even great oration skills, I do know a truth when I hear/read one - whether from the pulpit or the pdf. Delivering truth is the situation the digital advertising industry currently faces. How, you ask? If you haven't noticed, there is an onslaught of negative press and backlash about what digital marketers are collecting regarding online behavior; personally identifiable information; how they're creating target audiences and which...Read More »

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) MIXX Conference, which is the preeminent digital advertising conference in the US. For a tech marketing geek like me, this is Mecca - at least until ad:tech NY next month. Of course, I was excited to see the myriad new gadgets; yet to be released ways to personalize communications through/with technology and just to be around so many bright minds. My favorite moment, though, came when Darren Huston from...Read More »

If I were to tell you that there is compelling data, available to you and I, that states 18-34 year olds prefer to receive marketing communications via postal mail and newspapers, over social media channels and websites, would you believe me? Well, according to ICOM's (an Epsilon Company) research, this is true. Once you dissect why, though, it all makes sense. Even more important, given the right data you can set an integrated marketing communications strategy that allows for the compounding...Read More »

As I'm sure you're aware, Toyota found themselves the ire of Congress, their customers and general car enthusiasts alike earlier this year. You only have to go to the Toyota Press Room to see why. Their recall obligations are substantial. So, it is no surprise that they jumped on a set of good news, like The Fresh Prince and his cousin Carlton when "Apache" by the Sugar Hill Gang is played. Toyota is giving everyone the "I told you so" face ever since a NHTSA report came out, citing...Read More »

I have to admit, I have recently become fascinated by the opportunities retargeting represents. If you're not familiar with it, retargeting is the process by which an advertiser can make your display ads (re)appear to a web surfer that has visited your online location but failed to make a purchase decision. For instance, if I visit the Reebok website and surf around - without leaving my info or making a purchase - then decide I want to read a blog, I might end up seeing a retargeted Reebok ad on...Read More »