smart Audiences: Next-Generation, Privacy-Safe Targeting

In light of recent changes to identity-based targeted advertising, publishers and advertisers are seeking alternative solutions to reach their target groups effectively. smartclip has been building a roster of alternative targeting solutions to meet the varied needs of our clients and partners. One pillar of our privacy-safe targeting solutions is smart Audiences, which uses a combination of broadcast and TV panel data (smart TVT), online and offline socio-demographic data (smart SocioDemo), together with contextual targeting capabilities (smart Context) that are GDPR-compliant and CCPA-compliant.

Available exclusively via RTL AdAlliance and created in collaboration with our partners, AGF Videoforschung, Global Data Resources (GDR), and DoubleVerify, smart Audiences enables advertisers to reach predefined and custom-built, multi-layered target groups which represent relevant consumer segments. 

Eleven predefined target groups — or ‘personas’ — have been developed and continue to expand, catering to the diverse needs and requests of advertisers.

These personas encompass a wide range of interests and reflect realistic consumer behaviours.

• Tech Enthusiast: Early Adopter, Tech Addicted, Trendsetter, Entertainment & Gadget Lover
• Interior Designer: DIY Fan, Handicraft Enthusiast, Hobby Craftsperson, Refurbisher
• Fashion & Beauty Guru: Fashionist(a), Beauty Blogger, High-Quality Products, Shopping Fanatic
• Fitness Foodie: Nutrition Expert, Hobby Cook, Sports Addict, Healthy Living
• Business Professional: Affluent, Hard Worker, Stock Exchange Savvy, Team Manager
• Modern Families: Flexicurity, Work-Life Balance, Sustainability, Responsibility
• Travel Lover: Family Holiday Fan, Self-Determiner, Cosmopolitan, Adventurous
• Eco-Warrior: Environmental Protection, Healthy Food, Climate Change, Sustainability
• Trendsetter & Online Shopper: Trendsetter, Quality Oriented, Lifestyle Products, Investment Readiness
• Over-50s: Healthy Living, Financial Security, Enjoys Life, World Traveller
• Gearhead: Motorsports, Tech & Entertainment, Speed, Air Travel

smart TVT: Enriching video targeting with TV viewing behaviour data

The newest pillar of the smart Audiences product suite, smart TVT, enables advertisers to target audience segments based on detailed annonymised TV profile data. Combining TV audience measurement and TV usage data with the online world, smart TVT uses broadcast and TV panel data from German audience TV measurement company, AGF Videoforschung, to improve the precision of online video targeting. 

smart TVT technology pulls data from the most relevant German TV channels — including RTL, Discovery Group, Disney, Sport1, N24, and Doku — and uses smartclip’s cross-device targeting technology to deliver targeted advertisements to all connected devices in the household.

Using the AGF tool, AGF SCOPE, suitable affinities are carefully selected to accurately capture the essence for each smart Audiences persona. Then, smartclip Addressable TV profile targeting leverages AGF panel data to identify current TV shows from the entire smartclip ATV portfolio with the highest affinity index. This index provides a clear insight into the audience structure. 

Once the profile targeting is in place we can identify devices with users that have the highest affinity across the entire ATV portfolio. Targeted ad impressions will then be delivered with accuracy to other household devices via online video through smartclip’s cross-device targeting.

*Currently, smart TVT is only available in Germany.

smart SocioDemo: Research-based targeting without IDs or private data 

smart SocioDemo is built around an open, ID-free dynamic cluster algorithm (DCA) developed by GDR. The aim is to predict hotspots of interests and socio-demographic characteristics for privacy-safe online targeting. No private data is allowed in the model and activation requires no cookies (first-party or third-party) or IDs, ensuring smart SocioDemo is a future-proof targeting solution. The whole set-up is built to ensure full protection of user privacy — both in the data model and in the activation. 

The model is centred on neighbourhoods — small stable geographical clusters containing a minimum of five households – offering scalable target groups for Online Video and Connected TV advertising. Neighbourhoods as a statistical entity are defined by local governmental statistical offices.

Advertisers can target different user segments by combining these scalable target groups with a range of data sources — which are matched according to zip codes. Examples of this data and its sources include census data from local statistical offices, survey/panel data from data analytics providers such as Kantar, and movement data from telecommunications providers such as Telenor.

smart Context: Matching relevant ads to corresponding content 

Contextual targeting is a privacy-safe alternative for reaching relevant audiences in moments that matter. Instead of relying on cookie technology or personally identifiable information (PII) such as email addresses or phone numbers, smart Context allows advertisers to target advertisements based on site, page, or app content. Relevant adverts appear when the user is viewing relevant content. The targeting is not based on past or forecasted interest, it is based on the current interest of the user, reaching them at the moment of maximum engagement with the subject matter. 

Using a combination of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, smart Context determines which categories to assign to each site, page or app, from an extensive list of categories defined and provided by DoubleVerify and based on IAB taxonomy. This ensures a clear understanding of content, offering accurate content classification that enhances brand suitability and targeting for advertisers.

Supporting consumer privacy while also maintaining relevance, smart Context helps to drive performance by reaching receptive audiences while they are viewing content relevant to the advertiser’s product or service. 

If you are interested in finding out more about smart Audiences, contact us via smartclip_demand-europe@rtl.com.