I am not sure consumers are aware of this fact, but advertising funds the vast majority of the media they consume.  And as the consumption of this media moves online, the online advertising model is going to struggle to generate sufficient revenue to allow for the continued production of the high quality content we come to expect.  

This reality is prompting publishers to seek out more ways to maximise the return on their content through the ad-funded model, one of which is the concept of behavioural targeting.  If predictions are correct and the use of behavioural targeting continues to grow (to a point where it outstrips search advertising), can it offer the boost that online ads require to increase revenues and maintain content quality?  Are users going to have to accept that the tracking of their web browsing is essential to secure engaging, high value content?

The ad-funded model of publishing is absolutely key to the survival of the industry.  Very few (if any) consumers want to pay for their media -- and why would they if they can get something comparable free elsewhere?  Acceptance of advertising end users to pay for the publication of and the access to free content is relatively high.  In essence, this is seen as a necessary evil.  

Where the ad-funded necessary evil seems to over step the mark is with Behavioural Targeting (BT). BT uses information collected on an individual's web-browsing behavior, such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made, to select which advertisements to display to that individual. It is this practice that users are finding objectionable.   Over half of users surveyed in a recent poll said that they were uncomfortable or very uncomfortable with their behavioural profiles being used to target more relevant ads to them.

The fact is that online advertising is not yet at a level where it can sustain many publishing models on its own, in particular for newspaper-type publications.  BT could be the answer to increase publisher advertising yields and drive revenue -- whether directly through adoption of BT tools by their own commercial teams and internal tech; indirectly through improved targeting from their network partners; or through selling their data to a third party data exchange.  Granted, the latter two options could compromise the long-term business model as well, but nonetheless both will put advertising money into the industry in the short-term.

The crux of the problem is that there is a fundamental disconnect between the needs of the publishers versus the desires of end-users - publishers need to use their editorial and increasingly more of their users’ behavioural data to sustain their content creation business; yet users want access to free content but are not willing to have their behavioural data used in order to continue to get it for nothing.  However, if users are not willing to accept some compromise, it could dramatically affect the amount of ad revenue going into the business.  And if there is no money available to create high quality content, then the industry is only going to be able to produce low quality, dummed down, tabloid fair, which would be less interesting to the end reader.

It seems to me that if users want to retain the right to free access to high quality content, then there needs to be a trade-off where their behavioural data is used to target more relevant ads to them.  In turn, it is the industry’s responsibility to ensure that this concession on the users’ behalf is then not compromised.

I myself have no problem being shown car insurance ads when reading a high quality, free article online - especially if it is around the time my annual premium is up for renewal…

Acceleration will be hosting a webinar later this month on the topic of Behavioral Targeting and how to make it work for you as a publisher. The webinar will explain exactly what it means; explore different cases of how it can be used to improve targeting, ad relevancy and yield; and what will be the future for behavioral targeting.

When: 15h July
Time: 11am (GMT)

Register now