I.P. targeting finds expats surfing non-U.K. websites

Expatriates invariably visit websites based in their home countries to catch up on news or shop for favorite brands from “back home”. Global ad network Oridian has created a dedicated ad channel that will enable marketers to target this large audience.

by Helen Leggatt

Oridian’s new “foreign channel” was launched last month and already constitutes around 1.5 million users. It uses I.P. targeting to serve tailored ads to Internet users while they are browsing non-U.K. sites from within the U.K.

Sites often sought by expatriates include food, shopping, news, banking and travel sites. Oridian’s channel focuses on the larger expatriate nationalities in the U.K. such as Polish (400 sites) and Indian (30 sites) plus others including South American, South African and Australian.

Large British companies such as NatWest Bank and News Corp.-owned tabloid newspaper The Sun are using the new ad network to target the growing Polish population that are surfing websites back in Poland from the U.K.

"We are constantly being asked how we differ from other networks,” said Simon Bale, UK sales director at Oridian. “With the majority of our competitors fighting for the same unique users on the ComScore top 500 sites, it's important to find an audience segment that offers untouched users, and reduces duplication for advertisers who use a number of networks for one client."