Targeted: How Technology Is Revolutionizing Advertising and the Way Companies Reach Consumers

by Mike Smith

Far from the catchy television spots and sleek magazine spreads are the comparatively modest ads that pop up on websites and in Internet searches. But don't be fooled--online advertising is exploding. Growing at a compound annual rate near 20%, it is now the second-largest advertising channel in the United States.

Part history, part guidebook, part prediction for the future, Targeted tells the story of the companies, individuals, and innovations driving this revolution. It takes readers behind the scenes--examining the growth of digital advertising, its enormous potential, and the technologies that are changing the game forever. Leading the way is real-time bidding, which offers advertisers unprecedented precision in targeting ads and measuring their effectiveness.

From keyword micro-markets and ad serving systems to aggregated virtual audiences and new business models, Targeted is sweeping in scope and stripped of technical complexity. It is an essential resource for anyone interested in finding and connecting with customers in the vast and shifting Internet universe.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Technology

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

MIKE SMITH is a vice president at Hearst Magazines Digital Media, responsible for the platforms that support the creation and delivery of online advertising. Previously president of Forbes.com, he is a recognized thought leader in digital publishing.

Reviews

[Bianca Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I told a friend I was reading Targeted by Mike Smith. She asked "how could you write a book on SEM? Search engine marketing moves too fast". She's right.

Targeted was a NetGalley offering I pounced on. Targeting has been a marketing game changer in the last ten years, and something we're still trying to understand and perfect. The blurb was also exactly what I needed:
"Part history, part guidebook, part prediction for the future, Targeted tells the story of the companies, individuals, and innovations driving this revolution. It takes readers behind the scenes—examining the growth of digital advertising, its enormous potential, and the technologies that are changing the game forever. Leading the way is real-time bidding, which offers advertisers unprecedented precision in targeting ads and measuring their effectiveness."

Unfortunately, Targeted didn't correspond to this descriptor.

What is Targeted about?

Targeted is part history. The first 56% tells the story of how search engine marketing developed. It includes elevator conversations with Jeff Bezos and the personalities that developed the technology in the ad auctions. The second half turns to digital marketing platforms while keeping the verbose narrative style. It's very word-heavy with minimal statistics and images to break it up. Images may have been added to the final copy, but it was a nearly finished e-ARC, so I don't think so.

There isn't much to discuss about the first half. It's well-written and very well researched. But it is a personal history of one narrow digital marketing tactic. I also suspect there's either a little animosity against Google or it's just dated. AdWords and AdSense were barely mentioned. About 45% in there was a descriptor of what I suspect is AdSense, but I was already skimming by then.

The second half (from chapter 10 on) is the discussion of digital marketing platforms. Chapter 10 looks at the need for data; 11 is on privacy and 12 details new technologies. It's all very fluffy, and a bit outdated. I was later proven wrong but one of my notes did ask if it was a subsequent edition because the most recent date reference at that stage was mid-2012. There was one example of effectively targeting in the privacy chapter, albeit not related to SEM or advertising. A privacy advocate graduate student merged data from several public sources to identify the then governor, William Weld's health information. Governor Weld was in office in the mid-90s.

Targeted's section on new technologies was just as dated. I was working with HTML 5 as a mobile app replacement two years ago, but Mike claims it hasn't been accepted. Tablet usage stats are more than a year out-of-date, and the digital television discussion forgets to mention the decreasing number of people with cable. Yes, technology does allow for more choice within a household, but fewer households are choosing to use that medium.

Who is Targeted for?

Targeted is really two books. If you're in the search engine marketing industry and want to know the stories that lead to the current technologies, read the first nine chapters. If you're very out-of-touch and needing to get to know what digital marketing platforms are available for creative ad placements, then check out the last three chapters. Unfortunately, if you want to learn SEM or how to target your customers better, you won't get it here. Google offers some great resources for free.

Originally published on Tap Dancing Spiders: http://tapdancingspiders.com/2014/12/...

[Prolific Wisdom - Mark Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prolific Wisdom (see prolificwisdom.com) community of Harvard alumni reviewed Mike Smith's new book, Targeted, about the rapid rise of online advertising. Here's our rating, review and FIRE Summary of his book.


RATING
Recommended reading. (4 out of 5 stars)


REVIEW
Targeted provides a clear overview of the digital advertising landscape. This space is booming, but due to its scale and multitude of participants it's often confusing for someone outside of this industry. The book is engaging and well written. It gives a very good overview of the evolution of digital advertising, the rise of Real Time Bidding, retargeting and display advertising as well as outlines key trends likely to impact digital advertising in the near future.

Targeted makes readers realize just how much personal information we provide without knowing how, why and who will be using it. We agree to terms and conditions without reading the contract.

This book is a little slow to start, but once it gets going, it relates a mix of stories from author's experience and the pace picks up to make Targeted an enjoyable read. For a newbie to online marketing, the book sin't too heavy or too laden with the industry jargon. We enjoyed the author's style throughout and his use of valuable statistics in several of the chapters.


FIRE SUMMARY (Facts, Ideas, Resources, Expression)

FACTS
25% of ad dollars go to digital advertising ($40B a year)
One of every four ad dollars spent is for digital advertising. TV is still the top ad category. In 2013, USA online advertising amounted to $42.8B and intermediary 'middle-men' account for over 60% of online ad dollars spent.

Google dominates
The search advertising industry generated $19.9B in sales in 2013. Google generated 70% of this revenue. Interestingly, Google conducted 67% of all searches done in the USA in Dec, ’13. Meanwhile, display ads sold $17.8 billion, which was 42% of total online ad spending.

Real Time Bidding (RTB) works well
In studies, RTB has been shown to get better Click Thru Rates (CTR), and double the ROI of Run of Network advertising.

Digital ads $185B by 2017
Price Waterhouse Coopers predicts digital advertising will reach $185 billion worldwide in 2017. (eMarketer predicts $72 billion in the USA for 2017).

Mobile to dominate
eMarketer forecasts that by 2017 60% of US digital ad spending will be for mobile device ads. Mobile (apps) will dominate. There's one billion active smartphones worldwide now and this should reach two billion in the next three years.


IDEAS
Agencies behind the curve
Online advertising became very complicated and fragmented which confused advertisers and grew beyond the resources of ad agencies, so new intermediaries have sprung up.

Shifting media landscape
Most obvious area for growth is in mobile and tablet advertising due to the growth of the usage of these platforms from a small base. Digital TV provides an intuitive opportunity, but the current infrastructure makes it harder to execute and leaves that a question mark.

RTB, Adapt or die
Results of ad buys can change quickly, so its best to learn and adapt quickly, so Real Time Bidding really helps optimize in the moment.

Display + retargeting is better than search
Retargeting can endow display advertising with the same intent quality as search advertising, yet display ads sell for less and are far more immersive and better for brand building than flat paid search ads. People spend 5% of their online time at search engines, and 95% elsewhere...in front of display ads.

The future = display ads, video, mobile, RTB
eMarketer predicts display advertising will grow 23.8% in 2014 vs 13.4% for search advertising. Digital video and mobile are growing faster but have smaller bases. By 2018 RTB display advertising should reach 30% ($12.5B) of online display ad spending vs 22% ($4.9B) for 2014. Display advertising will surpass search advertising in 2015. By 2018 display advertising should be $41B vs $32B for search. Over half of all online ad spends will be for display.


RESOURCES
Small niche networks
Blogads, Deck Network, and Federated Media are smaller niche ad networks

Big ad exchanges
Ad exchanges use an auction system. Yahoo’s Right Media, Google’s DoubleClick and Microsoft’s AdECN are three of the biggest. Google and OpenX have large online display ad exchanges.

DSPs and SSPs
Demand Side Platforms (DSP’s) work with media buyers and agencies and to buy ad inventory and improve targeting. MediaMath, DataXu and Turn Inc. Supply Side Platforms a.k.a. yield optimization platforms help sellers get more for their ads by improving their technology for targeting. See Google’s Admeld, PubMatic, and The Rubicon Project.

Behavioral data
Data Aggregators/Providers are controversial because they share information and behavioral data about people. See BlueKai, eXelate, Nielsen, Intelius, and Spokeo.

Ad research
Moat is an analytics company for online display ads. They're developing new ways of measuring how ads change attitudes and actions, to help advertisers move beyond mere CTR measurement.


EXPRESSION (What to do next)
Beware of bots
When buying advertising on CPM, ask how bot, crawler, and spider traffic is removed from your traffic count!

RTB imperative
Get your head around the top RTB ad exchanges. Seek out opportunities to use display RTB retargeted ads.

Beware of RON
Be careful with Run Of Network advertising. Your ads may be placed in inappropriate places for your brand.

Privacy guard
Be more careful about the information you give out. Be more mindful of the ads presented to you. Click on the wrong one, and they will follow you for a while. Be conscious that ads are targeted to your past behaviors.

Move quickly, focus on behaviors and keep your eye on predictive analytics
When buying ads focus on observable behaviors rather than pre-conceived notions and stereotypes. Look at engagement first. Don't use static campaigns. Look at results and adjust your audience quickly. It will be interesting to see how predictive analytics develop to boost ad results.


Key Contributors
Mark Brooks
Boris Tsimerinov
Andre Lamontagne
Vikram Banerjee
Hena Rana
Georges Selvais

[Jacob Henke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Overview of the Direction of the Industry

This was a very interesting overview of the direction of the advertising and some of the history leading up to the usage of targeted advertising and real time bidding.
Unfortunately, any time the author began to talk about the technical side of things, concepts were either vastly over simplified or just plain wrong.
Good information about how targeting came to be and a very high level overview of the process, but don't expect to learn about any specific technologies or techniques.

[Ana Todor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good start for someone who knows very little about the advertising environment, but it offers few insights for veterans in the field. It's a good book to clear the confusions between ad exchanges, DMPs, SSPs and other infamous acronyms and also a good overview on the rise of paid-search advertising and RTB. It also offers information on some key players in the field, if you want to stay connected with this world. I found the last three chapters on data, privacy and future tendencies to be the poorest, mostly because they already feel outdated (the book was written in 2014). I enjoyed the chapter on how to build an RTB server the most, and I certainly feel that the book could have benefitted so much more from a heavier technical approach.

[Tori B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm in agreement with the sentiment of another poster regarding how quickly out-of-date concepts and technologies in advertising become. However, this isn't a criticism of the author but simply an inevitability of a rapidly changing industry.

With that being said, the last three to four chapters seemed thin on the grand. For example, there are examples of digital tv technology with ad targeting abilities already in production at the time this book was published.

Overall a good introduction to digital ad tech history. The RTB chapters were particularly interesting for someone just entering in this space.

[Cliff Chew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book gives a good overview, especially at it's start. If you have limited knowledge of digital marketing, this book serves as a good start. Unfortunately, this book is a bit dated (reading this in 2017), so some of the stuff discussed needs some updating. There is also a very small section on the use of data in digital marketing. I had hope there was more on this.

If you want some broad overview of the digital marketing space, this book is all right. If you want something deeper, I am still trying to find such material as well.

[Vivek · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you see ads beside your search engine results or when you visit a website, have you wondered why the ads seem more relevant than it was a few years back? If you want to know what happens under the hoods of digital advertising and how you as a 'user' is 'targeted' by advertisers, you must read this book. The author's style of providing lot of anecdotes and real examples makes the assimilation of information not difficult. And if you are getting into the ad-tech world, this is a must read.

[YewHan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed history of advertising tech, specifically the documentation of the RTB function in digital advertising. Good for novices to pick and learn about ad tech, but other information are very introductory and high level (reckon it's due to the size of the book and the limited pages). Overall, the book is easy to read and the ideas are easy to follow.

[Colby Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overview of digital advertising in the modern day, including RTB. Not very technical, so it serves as a very good introduction to the industry for anyone interested.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find much new information in this book, but I think it's a great start for those new to the field.

[Abhishek Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a decent book, which more works like a historical record of events and thought process... for them being a lot obvious for current times.

[Andrew Breza · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's hard to figure out the intended audience for Targeted: it has too many detailed company histories for people coming to the topic without any background and it's too superficial for industry professionals. Beyond that identity confusion, the book gets a few things wrong (eg confusing creative fatigue and banner blindness), is already outdated, and can't decide if it supports greater privacy controls or greater PII sharing.

[Breakingviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

By Martin Langfield

A lot happens in a split second online, much of it good for the advertising business but worrying for privacy advocates. Lightning-quick auctions to push tailored ads to individual web users are growing fast, writes Mike Smith, a digital publishing executive, in his new book “Targeted.” Smith predicts such auctions will be a big part of the industry’s future. Ad men will need ever more personal data to fuel them.

Smith, who oversees digital ad platforms at Hearst Magazines Digital Media, provides an eye-opening explanation of “behavioral targeting” - the technique ad firms use to track, analyze and exploit the detailed information people leave about themselves online, wittingly or not.

Cookies, little strings of code placed on a computer when a user visits a website, play a big part in the “digital exhaust” which people emit online, Smith writes, as does all the information offered on social media or when registering on websites. Traditional cookies can be blocked or erased, but there are forms of cookie-less tracking. “Fingerprinting” records specifics of a user’s device. It’s hard for most people to avoid sending information to advertisers, publishers and the bewildering array of specialist firms that serve them.

Such information can be exploited in real-time computerized auctions for the right to show online ads to individuals, Smith writes. The algorithm-driven auction process takes place on electronic marketplaces in the hundredths of a second after an internet user clicks a link to visit a website. The winner’s ad appears by the time the site has fully loaded. Millions of individual auctions can take place every second.

Advertisers see something like their holy grail: the right ad served to the right person at the right time - for the right price. The real-time bidding process allows ad campaigns to be fine-tuned through instant feedback. In a technique called retargeting, desirable consumers can be followed around the internet, for example by placing ads on other sites they are known to frequent.

The results are disconcerting for people who are used to traditional print or broadcast media, where everyone sees the same advertisement on the same page at the same time. On the internet, the same website can show one consumer an ad for sailing attire, another an ad for diapers and a third one for grouting supplies - at exactly the same instant. What is seen depends on the profile assembled from data about a person’s lifestyle, browsing history and shopping habits.

The rise of real-time bidding in the United States has been rapid. Five years ago, Smith writes, only 1 percent of online display ads - such as the banners across the top of many websites - were bought on a real-time bidding basis. The proportion is now around 22 percent, and by 2018 is forecast to reach almost 30 percent.

Smith predicts that as internet-connected TVs take hold, the kind of highly focused ads now booming on the web will be possible there too. Tracking people better via mobile devices, and the rise of the “internet of things” as fridges and other appliances get IP addresses, will bring even more data into people’s digital exhaust for the industry to draw on.

Smith sees the multibillion-dollar internet advertising industry that has grown from such data collection as a boon for all web users. Without it, he argues, much that is free online would not exist, or would cost money.

For privacy advocates, though, the future he paints sounds bleak. While the vast databases of the ad business may not record individuals’ names or social security numbers, the industry controls such detailed information that identities may be easily discoverable by those with a mind to it. It sounds like an invitation to abuse.

Smith examines various approaches to protecting privacy or mitigating its erosion. People might demand en masse to be paid for the use of their data, for example, or sue for loss of privacy in the courts. “Do not track” browser options may spread, as may cumbersome “opt-in” requirements for online services. Non-profit institutions could hold personal data and only release it in anonymized form.

He finds most of these impractical, at least in the United States. Privacy concerns are a real issue, he acknowledges, but most people seem too happy enjoying advertiser-subsidized stuff online to worry about what they are giving away.

[crochet.drama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best book if you want to understand how modern digital marketing works. A must if you are considering joining a marketing or an ad tech company! Or even if you just want to understand why and how - when your spouse/child searches for Nike shoes on their phone - you end up getting shoe ads on your laptop :)

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marketing to your target customers was perhaps a lot easier in the past, things were a little more defined, the pace slower, the territory more precise and the reach… Today with the Internet and always-on mobile technology, the world has became a little smaller, the potential market much larger and the range of marketing channels can be confusing.

A concise book such as this can be a digital lifesaver, giving you a mix of a historical overview about the “new” world of digital advertising, an overview of current offerings and an attempt to look into the future. The author has managed to cram a lot of great information into a little package, drawing on his own experiences as well as the thoughts of over four hundred interview subjects. There is no shortage of books that look at the “digital advertising” space yet this author has managed to produce something different that is neither one thing or another, yet it succeeds as a combination of everything. Whether you are an experienced digital marketer or someone who is about to dip their toe in the shark-invested waters, there will be something to take away from this very reasonably priced book.

Throughout the book are quite profound, blindingly obvious points that NEED to be reinforced as we are likely to overlook them. Such as: “The audience for digital content is enormous and global… it can be composed of the tiniest slivers of audience groups. Never has an audience of this aggregate size been this disaggregated. This is an audience that can consist, at times, of cohorts of one. Today, if a wealthy shopper somewhere on the Internet is in the market for an expensive luxury car right now, targeting that one shopper at that moment may be more valuable than advertising to millions of unmotivated consumers.”

Until you have read this book you might not appreciate just how comprehensive it is. Yet it flows freely like a cheap paperback novel, you whip through the text at a fair rate of knots whilst the information just flows into your brain. It is far from being an onerous read. Other books of this kind could well copy the author’s style (and no doubt the hard work of the publisher’s production department).

Don’t make the mistake of just glancing at the chapter titles as you might think it is a very dry, formulaic book (titles such as Search Engine Marketing, The Google Eclipse, Real-Time Bidding In Action, etc.). Browse and prepare to be engaged. Just don’t read the book late at night as you will find it hard to put down and your brain will be buzzing for hours afterwards when you should be safely in the arms of Morpheus.

Targeted: How Technology Is Revolutionizing Advertising and the Way Companies Reach Consumers, by Mike Smith and published by AMACOM Books. ISBN 9780814434994, 224 pages. YYYYY.

[Nowhere Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seems to be the result of a compromise between the desire to write an accessible "mobile advertising for dummies" kind of book and the desire to share the author's insights about the future of the industry. As with all compromises, some sacrifices are inevitable. "Targeted" represents a compromise in another sense as well: it seeks to give a rundown on all digital advertising, from SEM to digital TV. With such a goal, it is hard to provide an in-depth analysis.

The historical account of online advertising is written in a lively and entertaining manner. As a lawyer, I found it hard to follow the description of how different models work. Toward the end of the book, I got more and more confused as the models multiplied, and the author kept switching between past and present, browser and mobile. Nevertheless, he should be given credit for an attempt to pack all this knowledge in a compact and reader-friendly format. Arguably, it is impossible to carry out such a task any better. Overall, a great book to start learning about digital marketing.

[Vanessa Princessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook thanks to the app Blinkist.

The key message in this book:

In the new digital economy of the internet, each company has to target its customer base carefully to make them aware of their product. The key to hitting the target is to make the most of Search Engine Marketing with paid-search ads and Search Engine Optimization.

Actionable advice:

Find out the three most important search keywords related to your company.
To determine your three most important keywords, you must know the precise aim of your company. Generic phrases like “selling music production systems” or “providing lifestyle coaching” won’t cut it. After you became very clear about what exactly your company offers people, you can determine the three keywords you need to enhance your Search Engine Marketing.

[Sarah Lawler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent over view of digital marketing. I need to get myself up to speed quickly and this book do that for me. Written in clear language, not jargon, good examples that were understandable. I will probably read it again in the coming weeks.

[Robbie Forkish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insights into the world of targeted advertising, the lubricant of the digital economy--and the reason our privacy is being consistently and effectively violated.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good for anyone new to the online advertising space.

[Tim Diacon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world of ad tech is completely insane. This book does a pretty good job of attempting to explain it. You'll still be confused by the end, but less confused at least.