Targeting of Online Ads Using Offline Consumer Data

Acxiom Corporation (Acxiom) is a data broker which searches phone books, voters' lists, real estate records, motor vehicle records, warranty cards and surveys to profile households and consumer preferences. Acxiom's consumer database of 133 million households comprises information such as estimates of annual income, net worth, marital status, number of children, average ages of children, home ownership, property value, education level, lifestyle information, brand preferences and product consumption patterns. This collection of consumer information has typically been sold to marketers interested in targeting certain consumer groups. Behavioural targeting is often used by Internet companies such as Yahoo and Microsoft to target online advertisements geared to users' online browsing habits. Now Acxiom has taken the targeting of online advertisements a step further. In October, it introduced a new online program, Relevance-X, which matches a consumer's personal information provided online with Acxiom's offline consumer database to target Internet advertisements based on the consumer's profile and past buying habits. Privacy advocates have expressed concern about these new techniques and, in particular, the ability of marketers to personally identify an individual consumer, and the degree of knowledge among consumers about how their information is used and who is using it. In 1999, Doubleclick encountered similar privacy concerns when it purchased Abacus Direct Corp (Abacus), a direct mail company, and attempted to link Internet advertisements with consumers' buying habits, names and addresses obtained from Abacus. Amid government investigation and criticism from privacy and consumer groups, Doubleclick abandoned the plan. Acxiom says that it has implemented measures to protect consumers' privacy. No personal information such as name or address is transmitted, only anonymous attributes about consumers' habits and interests. In addition, consumers are able to opt out of the program by contacting Acxiom. For further information, see: http://www.freepress.net/news/27090; http://tinyurl.com/2pv7ko; and http://www.nwanews.com/adg/national/207288/ For a press release and further information from Acxiom, visit: http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=3160; and http://www.relevance-x.com/ Summary by: Lauren Lodenquai