There are two initiatives in this effort. First, the more precisely we can define the demographics and preferences of the viewer, the better the value of the ad exposure. Second, since all of this occurs on a computer network, there is an opportunity to match content and viewer preference in real time regardless of the site. We think this is virtual aggregation. The demographics at first seem to be a knotty problem since efforts to entice web visitors to provide income and other valuable demographic information have not been very successful.
Privacy is sacred, but there is room for solutions in at least two directions.
But we as consumers and surfers can throttle the dissemination of information we provide. Second, it is also possible for advertisers to assemble and infer valuable information about us and our preferences by accumulating information we do not consider sensitive. Consequently, we are beginning to see firms that can substantially enhance the value of an ad exposure by matching the right preferences to the right ad at the right moment. The moment is still defined by the content that is being viewed, but with a knowledge of viewer preferences as well, the ad placement can be incredibly precise. Which brings us to the last observation.