Media: Psychology, Strategy and Planning, Essay Example

Behavioral advertising is based on consumer preferences, which are obtained from their online behaviors that have been tracked with analytics technology. Whenever consumers visit certain websites, their visits are tracked as well as their Internet surfing and spending habits. Behavioral advertising is a type of target marketing that allows companies to generate ads based on a consumer’s interests (Deschene, 2008) and is also referred to as programmatic buying. According to Peterson and Kantrowitz (2014), programmatic buying involves technologicies that automate the “buying, placement, and optimization of advertising, replacing human-based methods like phone calls” (p. 25).

The advantage of using this type of advertising technology is that it enables companies to use predictive analytics to identify consumer buying patterns as well as their product research patterns. This is done through the efforts of software developers, statisticians, and advertising experts who analyze data, both online and offline, to develop complex algorithms to hone in on what specific customers are interest in (Greengard, 2012). This sourced data is then used to develop targeted online advertising for specific brands.

Programmatic Buying Strategy

Programmatic buying strategy for developing effective behavioral advertising has many advantages, such as saving money on advertising and being more efficient (Peterson & Kantrowitz, 2014). This is due to the automation of the advertising, as opposed to using more traditional means of advertising such as placing an ad in the newspaper. This type of advertising would be particularly useful when developing ads to sell a product like concert tickets for a popular artist such as Lady Gaga.

To target the type of audience that would mostly likely be interested in a Lady Gaga concert, I would suggest targeting the online behaviors of those with certain characteristics. These characteristics might include: heterosexual males and females under the age of 35, homosexual males and females under the age of 35, people who live alternative lifestyles such as punk rockers or gothics, voyeuristic or occult artists’ fans such as Madonna fans or Marilyn Manson fans, and teenagers.

These fan characteristics are what I would suggest because of the nature of Lady Gaga’s appearance, stage presence, costuming, live performances, and messaging in her songs and videos. She comes across as a voyeuristic, sadistic, sadomasochist and even satanic artist who is very talented, mesmerizing, and captivating to her audiences. She is an excellent show woman that gives electrifying performances that usually have some type of shocking element associated with them such as a life-like beheading or something of that nature. She definitely has a following.

Targeting the online behaviors of possible Lady Gaga fans could include many avenues for gather data about them. I would suggest a few avenues for obtaining information these fans can stem from social media sites that may draw conversation about her, such as Twitter and Facebook, where keyword searches for her name may be popular. In addition, information about online purchases of her music, memorabilia, and fan club memberships, for example, would be good sources for gathering data about her fans. Programmatic buying or behavioral advertising is likely the best way to attract as many Lady Gaga fans as possible, in the quickest time most efficiently.

References

Deschene, L. (2008, May 1). What Is Behavioral Targeting? Retrieved May 6, 2015, from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-behavioral-targeting/

Greengard, S. (2012, August). Advertising Gets Personal. Communications of the ACM, 55(8), 18-20.

Peterson, T., & Kantrowitz, A. (2014, May). The CMO’s Guide to Programmatic Buying. Advertising Age, 85(12), 25.