Mindshare to serve social ads based on engagement

Forget behavioral or geographical, WPP's Mindshare unit will begin serving ads to social consumers based on how much time they spend engaged with social networking websites. The ads will be based on the content consumers are most interested in. Mindshare will partner with Lotame to pull off the new marketing abilities.

by Kristina Knight

Behavioral targeting system Lotame will serve ads. Their platform serves ads to mid-tier social networks, those just under the user numbers of Facebook and MySpace. The system allows marketers to serve ads to consumers based on when and where they may be the most receptive to that ad or brand. Lotame analyzes how much time consumers spend on-site and what types of ads are on the site; from there they develop tactics.

"Time Spent is the right platform at the right time," said Mindshare Managing Director Edward McLoughlin. "Interest in digital media is peaking, and by offering us and our customers the opportunity to test and measure the impact of exposure, we anticipate brands with any level of experience with online advertising to flock to this model."

This is a change from the thinking that targeting according to content alone or behavior alone is all that a marketer must do. By targeting according to how consumers are spending time and the content they are viewing on-site, marketers have a better idea of what the consumer is truly interested in.