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Beyond the who, the new Ws of targeted marketingBy Peter Bless

In the early 2000s reaching a targeted audience was a difficult and time-

consuming task. Then search engines, namely Google, invented the idea thatyou could dependably reach a target audience via contextual ads, showing thatthe who matters. But whats next?

While the who is important, its no longer the most precise way to target. Youraudience can be lost if you dont connect with them whenand where they maketheir decisions. Is the when and where in your marketing toolkit? Lets explorefurther.

With todays new media technologies and services it is now possible tocontextually target where buying decisions are made. These online services

allow brands to connect with their customers outside of the traditional searchengine result pages, through very relevant contextual ad placement inside thesites where users are action-oriented and real decisions are made. This contentreaches beyond the who, when connected to services that your customers useto make decisions.

The Proof: My life science clients want to reach researchers and clinicians.Purchase decisions among this market are made during the research process,alongside the content that informs research or prescriptive action. By placingcontextual ads on www.pubget.com, my clients associate their brand with leading

research and make direct connections where buying decisions are made. Forexample, results for Agilent Technologies included thousands of impressions anddozens of leads per day at the point of lab purchase decisions. This blew othercontextual ad options away, specifically because of the placement (the where),paired with the right audience (the who).

Lets move on to the when. Opportunities paired with a when can drive highermarketing ROI, too. Without the when, campaigns must rely on repetitiveexposure to create brand awareness and conversions. This gets expensive.

Alternatively, timely contextual ads do not need to rely on frequency becausethey are instantly associated with the decision process.

The Proof: As mentioned above, researchers make purchase decisions duringthe early stages of a research investigation where they determine what tools,supplies, conferences or services are needed for their work. With Pubget, I amable to connect my clients with not only the right audience, but I can also helpthem make the connection at this critical time, too. A case in point was my workwith the American Association for Cancer Research, which hosts dozens of

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conference each year. Their goal was to increase attendance and abstractsubmission. Pubget.com delivered results never before witnessed; 40% higherclick through rates, which resulted in an increase of 12% more abstractsubmissions over the last year. The campaign was so successful becauseresearchers were available to make decisions about attending conferences

relevant to their work.

Yes, the audience is important, however directing marketing spend towards users

outside the decision making mindset risks yielding lackluster results. The

placement and timing of your ads is crucial. By thinking beyond search engineadvertising, publications and distribution lists, you open yourself up to theopportunity to reach your audience at exactly the right time. And, while I haveonly referenced tools for my life science clients, targeting your audience by thewhen and where is not exclusive to this industry. There are plenty of examplesthat showcase that when and where paired together create effective targetedmarketing campaigns. Look at the success of Groupon, for example.

About the author: Peter Bless is the VP of Business Development at PubgetInc. (www.pubget.com), the life science paper search engine that connects lifesciences brands to clinicians and researchers during the research and decisionmaking process. Prior to Pubget, Peter was sales director for the WebMDConsumer Advertising Group. Before WebMD he led North American sales for

Nature Publishing Groups Naturejobs. While at Nature Peter helped launchNature India and worked extensively with international clients in digital media andprint sales. Peter has a BA from Rhode Island College.