The cross-platform ad sales unit of AT&T, AdWorks, is preparing to launch a proprietary product that allows advertisers to reach television and mobile audiences online. Dubbed Reflection, the offering uses an AT&T Labs-developed algorithm that draws from TV viewing data and insights from mobile content usage to “reflect†ad campaigns onto the AdWorks Online Audience Network.
The aggregated and anonymous TV viewing and mobile usage data comes from 10 million AT&T U-verse digital TV receivers and from more than 69 million AT&T postpaid mobile customer billing relationships. According to a recent comScore Media Metrix study, AT&T AdWorks had the fifth most extensive online advertising or buy-side network (behind Google Ad Networks, PulsePoint, AOL Advertising and Genome from Yahoo.)
Reflection works first by building audience segments for a certain television series or capturing insights from mobile content usage. Then it applies the AT&T Labs algorithm to identify common attributes to target similar audiences on the AdWorks Online Audience Network. AdWorks said it could deliver messaging from TV and mobile to online audiences using the same TV creative in a variety of formats.
Slated for a mid-September launch, Reflection represents ongoing efforts in the advertising and service provider communities to leverage data for better online value. Online advertising continues to grow, hitting a record of $8.4 billion in the first quarter of 2012 and growing 15% year over year, according to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC). But how to generate the best returns is a live question.
As noted in a previous post, the heady days of overvalued investments in online advertising companies are over. Whereas simple banner ads drew a $25 cost-per-thousand (CPM) a dozen years ago, video ads now average below $10, although they are headed upward, according to video marketing company TubeMogul. (And CPMs for premium online video content online can run two or three times as high.)
What AT&T subsidiary AdWorks offers, which is beyond the reach of other online ad networks, is direct access to real data from other viewing platforms. Its goal is to “help advertisers bridge the gap between online and TV and mobile media,†said Michael Rosen, VP, Online and Mobiles Sales, AT&T AdWorks, in a statement.
