Behavioral Targeting Whoops Contextual's Ass

A recent behavioral targeting vs. contextual targeting study on an Internet advertising campaign for Panasonic found behavioral targeting identified and reached 50.3 percent more imminent buyers of Panasonic plasma TV's than contextual targeting. The study, by Next Century Media using Insight Express across 1,146 respondents, also found the cost to reach each potential buyer was 50 percent less than contextual targeting.

When considering a plasma TV purchase, people on the receiving end of the behavioral targeted ads showed a 67.6 percent higher preference for the Panasonic brand than those reached by contextual targeting. The study also showed a 168.9 percent advantage for behavioral targeting over run of network in terms of increasing the likelihood of buying the Panasonic brand.

Behavioral targeting also generated a 63.1 percent increase in unaided brand awareness, 3.45 times greater than contextual targeting. The results are consistent with the findings of a Next Century Media/The Pretesting Company eye tracking study of the same campaign, which showed an advantage for behavioral targeting over contextual targeting in terms of number of looks at the ads. The tested campaign was delivered over Tacoda's behavioral network.