Latest news with #targetedadvertising
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Local Targeting Can Help Marketers In Stormy Economic Conditions
Rob Davis, President and CMO at Novus Media. At my company, we have a saying: Geography is destiny—in life and business. People of similar economic, demographic and cultural backgrounds tend to live near each other. And when people join communities and become part of something larger, it tends to influence how they feel and think and what resonates with them. Geography becomes particularly important during economic duress. For companies—and their agencies—this means you must work hard to find potential buyers without overspending on data and impressions that don't convert. Guideline, among other industry watchers, is predicting modest advertising spend increases, but at a slower rate than 2024 due to economic concerns. Therefore, there will be increased pressure to make those dollars count. So, what is the best way for companies to find the in-market buyers? Meeting them where they live, work and play alongside other similar people. I recommend using the humble ZIP code to leverage geolocation for targeted advertising. This goes beyond advertising and doesn't just affect pure-play retailers. From insurance to technology providers, if you have a target audience, you have several ZIP codes that will likely perform better than others. I believe geographic data should always be a core component of every business's strategy, but especially so when times are tough because it's often the best way to drive buyers to make a purchase. Here are some reasons why: You can supercharge prioritization. It's not uncommon for people who live together to develop bonds and speak the same dialect. If the town or city is known for certain industries, people who live next door to each other are probably more closely aligned in salary and worldview than they might be to someone in a similar job in another state. That's just the reality. Modern organizations develop one or a few ideal customer profiles (ICPs) with descriptors that identify the most likely or most lucrative customers. Oftentimes, you can find many people in these ICPs in the same area. You can then look at patterns in the data to identify the best prospects and opportunities for prioritization. For example, we had an enterprise software client that wanted to target the largest companies in the U.S. We identified 16 cities that housed high percentages of those ideal customers and digitally skewed our impressions in those cities while still running a national campaign. Those cities included the obvious—New York, Chicago and the Research Triangle in North Carolina—but also Minneapolis (which features Target, United Health and General Mills), Dallas (which includes AT&T and American Airlines) and St. Louis (which includes Anheuser-Busch, Centene and Edward Jones). As another example, a spirits client of ours wanted to reach casual non-beer drinkers who like to socialize in small groups. We were able to find and heavy up areas with the highest concentration of these groups. You can save on data costs while improving targeting. Many marketers too often think of targeting in pure psychographic or non-location-based demographic data, attributing half of their media spend to data and targeting costs instead of exploring potentially better or cheaper options. It's important to remember that not every localization strategy is alike. Advertisers that instead prioritize third-party audience data, which can add significant costs on a cost-per-mile basis, may struggle to maximize their value. Not only is the oft-forgotten ZIP code typically free in most digital media buying platforms, it's also more likely to drive purchase decisions in many scenarios. So, why doesn't everyone use ZIP codes for targeting? First of all, a ZIP code alone won't tell you much. You also need the historic data to unlock pertinent insights. Second, setting up a ZIP code strategy can take more effort. But once you get the mechanics down, in my experience, it's pure value. You can advertise nationally, but tailor locally. Research from Locality and The Harris Poll, published in AdAge (paywall), found more than 50% of individuals are more likely to purchase from a brand advertising locally compared to 13% nationally, highlighting the importance of a robust local strategy. Local advertising also gives companies the opportunity to frame messaging in terms that most resonate with that audience. For example, while planning a retail client's national buy, we tailored ads for different products to different neighborhoods (e.g., nasal spray to areas with high pollen counts or beauty products to neighborhoods that tended to have high concentrations of young women interested in low-cost makeup). We saw immediate gains. Advertisers that use local targeting can either affect national sales by targeting those areas most likely to buy or drive deeper local sales by tailoring messaging and placements to those most swayed by local advertising. In closing, audience targeting can be a powerful tool for marketers to reach buyers and prospects with improved precision. Whether you are conducting a national campaign or just advertising locally, the power of matching the right message to the densest market makes a ton of sense. Remember the common refrain: think global, act local, especially when it comes to advertising. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Tahawul Tech
17-07-2025
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
X accused of breaching advertising rules
Social media company X has received a formal complaint from nine civil society organisations accusing the platform of breaching advertising rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The campaigners, including NGOs such as AI Forensics, European Digital Rights and the Centre for Democracy and Technology, submitted a complaint to the European Commission (EC) and French media regulator Arcom. They allege that X enables targeted advertising using sensitive personal data linked to political views, religion, sexual orientation and health conditions – a practice banned under the DSA. The findings emerged from evidence collected by AI Forensics through an investigation of X's Ad Repository, a public database set up by companies under DSA rules. The research claimed major corporations such as Shein, McDonald's and Total Energies ran ad campaigns on the platform that targeted or excluded users based on engagement with sensitive keyword categories. AI Forensics also identified that Brussels Signal, a media outlet tied to European right-wing parties, ran ads aimed at users engaging with keywords related to far-right political content, a move seen as an attempt to sway civic discourse. In a joint statement, the organisations expressed 'deep concern' regarding the findings, stating that the sensitive user information used in X's advertising practices 'can reveal deeply personal aspects of an individual's identity', leading to an 'increased risk of discrimination, harm and violations of users' fundamental rights'. The group urged EU regulators and Digital Services Coordinators to launch an investigation, emphasising that 'platforms operating at the scale and influence of X must be held to the highest standards of compliance.' Source: Mobile World Live Image Credit: X
Reuters
17-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
X hit by complaints to EU over user data and targeted advertising
BRUSSELS, July 15 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's X social media platform has been hit by complaints by nine civil society organisations to EU and French regulators over what they say is its use of users' data for targeted advertising that may breach EU tech rules. The organisations - AI Forensics, the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe, Entropy, European Digital Rights, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. (GFF), Global Witness, Panoptykon Foundation, Stichting Bits of Freedom and VoxPublic said they took their complaint to the European Commission and the French media regulator Arcom on Monday. They urged both regulators to take action under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which prohibits advertising based on sensitive user data such as religion, race and sexuality. X, the Commission and Arcom did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. "We express our deep concern regarding the use by X of users' sensitive personal data for targeted advertisements," the organisations said in a statement. They said their concerns were triggered after they looked into X's Ad Repository which is a publicly available database set up by companies as part of a DSA requirement. "We found that major brands as well as public and financial institutions engaged in targeted online advertising based on what appear to be special categories of personal data, protected by Article 9 of the GDPR, such as political opinions, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and health conditions," they said. The group called on the regulators to investigate X. GDPR refers to the EU data privacy law.
CNA
15-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
X hit by complaints to EU over user data and targeted advertising
BRUSSELS :Elon Musk's X social media platform has been hit by complaints by nine civil society organisations to EU and French regulators over what they say is its use of users' data for targeted advertising that may breach EU tech rules. The organisations - AI Forensics, the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe, Entropy, European Digital Rights, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. (GFF), Global Witness, Panoptykon Foundation, Stichting Bits of Freedom and VoxPublic said they took their complaint to the European Commission and the French media regulator Arcom on Monday. They urged both regulators to take action under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which prohibits advertising based on sensitive user data such as religion, race and sexuality. "We express our deep concern regarding the use by X of users' sensitive personal data for targeted advertisements," the organisations said in a statement. They said their concerns were triggered after they looked into X's Ad Repository which is a publicly available database set up by companies as part of a DSA requirement. "We found that major brands as well as public and financial institutions engaged in targeted online advertising based on what appear to be special categories of personal data, protected by Article 9 of the GDPR, such as political opinions, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and health conditions," they said. The group called on the regulators to investigate X. GDPR refers to the EU data privacy law.
France 24
10-07-2025
- Business
- France 24
Shein faces 150-mn-euro fine in France
The regulator, the CNIL, faulted the fast-fashion retailer for using trackers called cookies that enable for targeted advertising to users without their approval as required in Europe, or for using a confusing method to get consent. It also found during a 2023 inspection that when users refused the tracking cookies Shein continued to read information from them. Given the firm has the technical and staff resources necessary to comply with the regulations its behaviour was negligent, said CNIL. Shein had recently complied with the regulations, it added. A final decision on fining the fast-fashion giant should come within weeks. Shein called the proposed amount of the fine "disproportionate", in a statement sent to AFP. "Since August 2023 we have actively worked with the CNIL to ensure our compliance and respond to their queries," the China-founded firm said. This additional possible fine from the CNIL follows a record 40 million-euro penalty it received last week from France's competition and anti-fraud office over "deceptive commercial practices" by misleading customers on price deals and on its environmental impact.
