For years behavioral targeting has been kept in the background, almost as a secret weapon only used in times of need. Only recently has the mass market started to take note of the power and efficiency in better targeting consumers, truly maximizing marketing dollars. Did anyone catch the NPR segment on behavioral marketing?
The recent AOL purchase of Tacoda, a behavioral targeting company, is further validation of the importance of behavioral marketing. But will AOL leave Tacoda alone, allowing them to do what they do best? Will Advertising.com, purchased by AOL in 2004, become the company umbrella, overseeing all internet marketing activities? So many questions pop up whenever giants like AOL and Advertising.com step in.
I find it interesting that when a deal like this happens I kind of take the purchased company off my list of valid competitors in the market. Almost assuming their magic will be lost- that the new parent company will somehow screw things up. Does anyone else share this opinion?
So far AOL has done a good job of leaving Advertising.com alone so maybe Tacoda will get the same courtesy. Even so, one question remains to be answered. Will AOL/Tacoda remain innovative enough to advance in this pioneer market?
In my humble opinion, it seems that most acquired companies loose their pizzazz or at least the creative individuals that drove them to success in the first place. They stop taking risks, stop standing out from the crowd and become satisfied with the status quo. I guess that’s my whole point, it seems to me that the driving forces in this industry are independent companies that are willing to take big risks in hopes of brilliant outcomes.
Either way, the fact that AOL has purchased Tacoda is big news for behavioral targeting, it stands as a sign that the “big guys” are coming around another indication that this industry is evolving and getting closer to perfecting the art of internet marketing.
