Today, audiences move to new locations. For example, advertising on MTV was the best way to reach the teen market – at least it used to be. What happened? They moved. They now get their music videos from a variety of sources including iTunes. Of course, many teens continue to watch MTV, but not in the numbers of the past. And many eliminate the commercials using their DVR.

Teenage girls spend a lot of their time communicating with their friends using instant messaging – at least they used to. Now they are spending much more time using FaceBook, and much less time sending instant messages. As a marketer, how can you find the audience that you are looking for? The answer is to look on-line.

AUDIENCE TARGETING
Advertisers can purchase the same targeted audience on-line that they do with other media; however, they can be guaranteed 100% composition and better rates. This method creates an overwhelming math advantage when linking advertising to results.

DEMOGRAPHIC TARGETING:
A major media agency recently compared broadcast, cable and Internet for a major retailer’s ad campaign based solely on demographic targets. The research team recommended that 75% of the budget should go on-line. Behavioral Targeting: Cadbury-Schweppes buys audiences for their sports drink, Accelerade, that are 100% composed of people who search exercise related topics and/or visit fitness groups. Engagement Targeting: Pepsi creates custom audiences who engage with its advertisements. Ask Yourself: Could we use audience targeting to increase the effectiveness of our on-line ad campaigns?

AUDIENCE PYRAMID SEGMENTATION
An audience pyramid segments a marketer’s audience into mass market on the bottom, purchase intent in the middle, and passion at the top. For example, Yahoo! has over 500 million users at the bottom of the pyramid, 80 million on-line group members who are discussing intent to purchase and 6 million group moderator/owners at the top who are focused on a passion. Marketers can target any of these groups with relevant ads and should expect 100% composition and customization when it comes to planning and buying the appropriate audience. Audiences made up of on-line communities are as big as TV, far better targeted, and much less expensive to reach. Ask Yourself: Could we use selected parts of the audience pyramid to increase the effectiveness of our on-line ad campaigns?