Offline Data Improves Online Results
In an ironic twist, the latest trend in improving online advertising results is leveraging offline data that has been used since the dawn of the direct marketing industry.
As cookie pools continue to expand, and their effectiveness and accuracy questioned, online marketers are beginning to appreciate the value of validated offline data from sources like business filings, census data, registration forms, etc. to precisely target digital campaigns.
Unlike inferred cookie data that relies on questionable criteria to place users into bloated targeting segments, offline data comes from information reported when opening a business, buying a house, filling out a census form, buying a car etc. The data is real; it’s not based on assumptions and reduces waste when used to target online campaigns.
The bridge between offline data and online targeting is the IP address. By overlaying offline data to filter a list of IP addresses, online marketers can reach the exact household or business that meet their criteria.
B2B marketers can target IPs by NAICS Codes, employee size, revenue etc. Consumer marketers can apply offline data to narrow down household IPs by income, number of children, ethnicity, spending patterns, and thousands of other criteria. IP targeting has the added benefits of scaling better across Mobile (since most Mobile devices don’t accept cookies), and being less susceptible to fraudulent traffic.
The solution to combating bots, fraud, and privacy concerns surrounding cookies has been around for over 50 years. Traditional direct marketers have always known the value of accurate, verified offline data to drive measurable results. In our industry’s relentless quest for innovation and new targeting techniques we’ve lost sight of the fundamental principle that the success of a campaign is determined before the first impression is delivered. The more accurate the targeting data, the better the campaign will perform. Using offline data to target IP addresses is the most effective way to improve performance of digital campaigns. Sometimes the best place to look for new ideas is in the past!
