Former Yahoo Execs Talk Future Of Internet Advertising

The former Chief Data Officer of Yahoo, Usama Fayyad, says that behavioral targeting, as well as predictive analytics, were “pure profit” for the number two search engine. According to Fayyad, Yahoo can essentially “guess intent based on behavior.”

The company gathers information on a user, such as the sites they have visited, their searches, and even their location. Once Yahoo has such information about a user, they are able to display ads that specific users are more inclined to click.

However, Nick Besbeas, former senior vice president of marketing at Yahoo is saying that digital media “requires a new ad type.”

Besbeas claimed that while TV ads are still essentially engaging, advertisements online need a kick. He pointed at a specific ad for Tipp-Ex as a shining example of an ad that “[brings] the products to life.” In the ad, the user can choose the outcome of a scenario involving a hunter and a bear.

Fayyad added that social media was a great tool for reaching audiences, citing the marketing campaign for the movie Anvil, which consisted of sending out 20 DVDs to influential tweeters. The outcome was a reach of 2 two million.