Category: health privacy

Google’s Eric Schmidt on Mobile Marketing [Annals of Why We Need Mobile Privacy and Consumer Protection Safeguards]

Google CEO Eric Schmidt gave the keynote address at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s “Ecosystem 2.0” conference.  As reported, he explained that [our emphasis]:

“The smartphone is the iconic device of our time,” Schmidt told the record IAB audience of 750 in Palm Springs, California. A year ago, he added, he predicted that mobile use would surpass PCs within two years. “It happened two weeks ago. And the PC is not going to catch up,” Schmidt said, as he labeled the new era, “Mobile First.”…The hyperlocal potential of mobile, Schmidt continued, means that smartphones and tablets bring a practical application to marketing that no other medium can match: A connection that will lead you to the store, open the door, and direct you to a product you need. “A RadioShack ad can tell you where you are and how to get to the nearest store.” And equipped with Near Field Communication chip (NFC), the newest generation of smartphones not only can tell you what to buy, it can enable a tap-and-pay transaction…Think of the offers mechanisms for advertisers,” Schmidt offered. “We’ve spent 20 years trying to get here. And now there’s an explosion in commerce. Particularly for the consumer who says, “I want to buy something and want to buy it right now,” he added, “We can do it.”

And, in large part, that capability means that mobile media consumption “is happening faster than all our internal predictions.”

Some 78% of smartphone internet users already use their smartphones as they shop. And, as consumer comfort with – and acceptance of – new mobile technology continues, Schmidt envisions “a world, in the very near future, where computers remember things and you never need to worry about forgetting anything. You want it to remember something and it will. And you’re never lost. No one is ever lost. You never turn off the [mobile device] and you’ll always know where you are. And where you want to go….”

NTIA’s Strickling on Privacy: He Forgets Consumers!

Here’s an excerpt via Politico from their interview with Department of Commerce NTIA Chief–and potential privacy policy maven–Lawrence Strickling.  Note the absence of consumers in his description of the problem and issues.  The Commerce Department, which is jockeying to have a greater role in the privacy debate (which the largest data collectors like because they are afraid of the consumer watchdog-minded FTC), better start making consumer needs come first–if they are to have any credibility here in the U.S. and with the EU.   It appears from the interview the Commerce Department has largely made up its mind to rely on “voluntary enforceable codes of conduct.”   Here’s what Larry said in a Q & A:

NTIA is also getting into the privacy discussions.

It’s part of the larger Internet Policy Task Force that’s underway here at Commerce where our agency — along with other agencies — is looking at a number of Internet policy issues. Privacy is first and foremost on the list, but we’re also looking at the protection of intellectual property, cybersecurity, and we’ll be looking at the free flow of information. For Commerce, our theme links all these topics around the notion of innovation, preserving the job creation and business expansion aspects of the Internet and trying to protect that going forward. So in the area of privacy, the task force did issue the green paper late last year. Comments just came in on that, so people are starting to work their way through them, with the goal that we’ll take the green paper and turn it into a more final pronouncement of the Department of Commerce or perhaps even the administration’s policy on privacy later this spring.

Do you think there should be a government office specifically dedicated to privacy?

We certainly believe that if we’re going to move forward with these voluntary enforceable codes of conduct with the industry that the function of convening and organizing that process should sit [in the government]. Our believe is that the Department of Commerce, and in particular NTIA, is the appropriate place for that function to reside. When we start talking about offices that sounds more bureaucratic and maybe requires departmental administrative orders. But on the issue of making sure that function is done, yes, based on what we see in the comments, we think that’s an appropriate idea. We think it’s a necessary idea in terms of working with industry and we’ll see how this all plays out over the course of the spring.

What is NTIA doing internationally on the privacy front?

Privacy has big international implications because the Council of Europe is looking at redoing what they’ve done in privacy. The European Union is looking at this issue. OECD is looking at the issue. So we’re very cognizant of the need to make sure our policy, whatever it is, is designed in a way to best harmonize with what’s happening in the rest of the world, and in particularly Europe.

Arianna Huffington’s AOL Privacy Problem–Will She Be a “Progressive” and Limit Behavioral Targeting?

Ms. Huffington’s HuffPost used behavioral targeting and other forms of interactive marketing to help make the news site successful.  At HuffPost, the privacy issues involved with such practices were never seriously addressed.  But now Ms. Huffington has a new role as the editorial executive for AOL’s content service.   But AOL is engaged in extensive and manipulative forms of behavioral targeting–including the pervasive online targeting of teens, African Americans, health and medical consumers and patients, for financial service products, etc.  Like other online marketers, AOL claims such online tracking, profiling and targeting isn’t really personally identifiable–which is both inaccurate and deceptive.  We challenge Ms. Huffington to engage in a serious journalistic investigation of AOL’s privacy practices and redress them.  There should be absolutely no targeting of adolescents.  Behavioral targeting of African-Americans, financial and health products should be by prior opt-in consent only.  Ms. Huffington should be held responsible for AOL’s privacy and online marketing practices–and we expect her to address them as she increasingly plays a greater leadership role in the online ad industry.  Meanwhile, here’s what AOL says it does using behavioral targeting focused on African-Americans:

Behavioral. Target consumers based on their interests:

  • Black Voices. People who visit Black Voices for the latest in news, entertainment, sports, lifestyle, careers, money and more.
  • You can target the following subsections of the Black Voices audience:
  • Auto Intenders. In-market car, truck or motorcycle shoppers who are looking for specific makes and models. They read reviews, look at pricing and features, and research financing options.
  • Die Hard Sports Fans. Dedicated fans who follow professional and collegiate sports, stay on top of player rankings, and shop for sports memorabilia.
  • Entertainment Buffs. People who follow the latest news about celebrities, movies, music and soaps. They purchase DVDs, music and video games online and also take an active interest in memorabilia.
  • Money Minders. Affluent, older individuals who are seeking online financial advice, checking the performance of their investments, getting tax advice, planning their retirement and researching insurance options.
  • Moviegoers. Movie buffs who read the latest reviews, follow celebrity gossip and purchase tickets/DVDs online.
  • Travelers. Personal and business travelers who are interested in travel advice and deals. They use the internet to purchase airline tickets, book accommodations, make car reservations and research financing options.

Accurate. Pinpoint your customers with other powerful targeting solutions:

  • Develop a custom audience segment modeled after visitors to your site (Look-Alike Modeling).
  • Find African American households that have the greatest propensity to purchase specific products or brands (MRI Lifestyle Clusters).
  • If you’re sponsoring an AOL page, retarget consumers who have visited it (Sponsorship LeadBack).
  • Find your ideal African American audiences on the sites they are most likely to visit (Subnet Targeting).
  • Find AOL members who have selected the AOL Black Voices Welcome Screen as their homepage option, or who have indicated (through third party data) that someone in their household is of African American ethnicity (Audience Rosters).

and its behavioral targeting of consumers looking for mortgages and other financial products:

Behavioral. Target consumers based on their interests:

  • Business Decision Maker. Individuals with an active interest in business news and strategy.
  • Money Minders. Affluent, older individuals who are seeking online financial advice, checking the performance of their investments, getting tax advice, planning their retirement and researching insurance options.
  • Real Estate Intender. In-market individuals looking to buy, sell or rent property.
  • Small Business Owner. Small business professionals shopping for real estate, health care and office and computer equipment.
  • Investors. Affluent individuals who read business news, evaluate stocks, seek financial advice and conduct trades online.
  • Insurance Intender. Individuals seeking information about life, auto, home or health insurance.
  • Mortgage Intender. Individuals seeking information about mortgage rates and/or home loans.

and AOL’s adolescent targeting [for shame!]:
Behavioral. Target consumers based on their interests:

  • Active Gamers. Teens and adults looking for online and console game strategies, tracking game release dates and purchasing video games.
  • Television Watchers. Individuals who keep up with their favorite television shows via TV network sites and online communities.
  • Style Mavens. Trend-focused women interested in the latest fashion, jewelry, and health and beauty items. They like to feel as good as they look by also paying attention to diet and fitness. 
  • AIM Audience. Individuals who have visited AIM properties.

FTC/FDA Need to Protect Health Privacy Online–Look at what personal medical info one health site asks

The online marketing of health and medical related services require urgent and serious scrutiny–from regulators, the Congress and the Obama Administration.  CDD’s recent complaint on digital pharma marketing and advertising addresses this issue.  But action is required.  Take for example, an email we received today from Quality Health/Allergies, promoting a “guide to help you sleep.”  In order to get the guide, you are asked to provide information.  Look at this one example and ask yourself.  Aren’t safeguards required to govern the collection and use of such information.  The newsletter features the TRUSTe seal which should raise questions about how effective that group’s work is protecting privacy.

Even more questions, inc. ones about specific drug brands, was asked that what we have below.  Here’s an excerpt from the questionnaire:

Simply respond to the questions below to continue.
1.     Are you (or someone in your household) going to the doctor in the next 30 days to discuss any of the following conditions below?
Alzheimer’s Disease (Moderate-to-Severe)
Bipolar Disorder
Child with Asthma
Chronic Dry Eyes
Diabetes
Osteoarthritis
Parkinson’s Disease
Rheumatoid Arthritis (Moderate-to-Severe)
Sjögren’s Syndrome
Other Condition
No appointment scheduled
Are you the Alzheimer’s Disease patient or the caregiver?
Patient
Caregiver
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Bipolar Disorder condition?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Asthma condition?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth email you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Dry Eyes condition?
Look for this short series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Does this person also have any of the following symptoms?
Chronic fatigue
Depression
Lack of energy
Excessive Sleepiness
Snoring
Poor concentration
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Osteoarthritis condition?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Parkinson’s Disease?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
Can QualityHealth send you a FREE email series with important questions to ask the doctor to properly manage the Sjögren’s Syndrome?
Look for this short email series over the next few weeks – check your inbox.
Yes
No
2.     Do you or a loved one feel tired or sleepy because of: (Check all that apply)
A non-traditional work schedule (includes working nights, evenings, rotating or split shifts or anything other than a normal day shift)
Shift Work Disorder
Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which is treated with a breathing device
Narcolepsy (sudden uncontrollable urge to sleep)
None of the above
3.     Have you or someone you love been diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation, or AFib?
Yes, I have
Yes, a loved one has
No
4.     Do you or someone in your household have Diabetes?
Yes, myself
Yes, someone in my household
No
5.     Do you have any of the following conditions?
(Please check all that apply)
Diabetes
High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Heart Attack
Stroke
Unstable Angina
Smoking or Used to Smoke
PAD (Peripheral Artery Disease)
None of the above
6.     Do you or someone you care for have Psoriasis?
Yes, myself
Yes, someone I care for
No
7.     Do you have any of the following conditions?
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
Panic Disorder (PD)
None of the above
8.     Have you or someone you care for been diagnosed with Cancer?
Yes
No
9.     Do you have a child (under 18) who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
Yes
No
10.     Have you or someone you care for had a “mini-stroke” (transient ischemic attack or TIA) or stroke due to a blood clot?
Yes, myself
Yes, someone I care for
No

Consumers Union Supports our call for FTC action on digital pharma & health marketing

My CDD is very pleased to have received a copy of this letter sent to the FTC and FDA by Consumers Union.  It underscores how the issues around sensitive data and sensitive users are a critical part of consumer protection online.  We are also pleased about the positive coverage our complaint has received from the press, including the New York Times, CBS/Moneywatch, and other publications.

December 1, 2010

Chairman Jon Leibowitz

Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC  20580

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Consumers Union, the independent, non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, urges the Federal Trade Commission to accept the request of November 23, 2010 from several petitioners “to investigate unfair and deceptive advertising practices that consumers face as they seek health information and services online.”

The very detailed 144-page filing is by the Center for Digital Democracy, U.S. PIRG, Consumer Watchdog, and the World Privacy Forum. Among the companies named in the complaint are Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, WebMD, Quality Health, Everyday Health, and Health Central. The complaint explains how non-traditional pharmaceutical advertising on the internet and elsewhere uses a wide range of tools and disguises to convince consumers to use various drug products. These advertisements frequently hide the fact that they are funded by the drug manufacturer and they often fail to give any hint of side effects or possible adverse events from use of the drugs.

We have not independently examined each of the documents cited in the complaint or the context in which they were used. But the documents are overwhelmingly explicit in their description of how to take information consumers would consider very private (the decision to type in a health-related word or phrase on a website) and consciously and unconsciously manipulate those consumers into the use of specific prescription drug products.

The mass of documents in the complaint are shocking in their totality and their implication for privacy and the use of pharmaceuticals with potentially dangerous side effects or questionable efficacies.

We urge the Commission to begin an immediate investigation pursuant to the requests in the complaint. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

William Vaughan

Health Policy Analyst

Five Ways to Protect Privacy

[a version we wrote of this ran in Multichannel News]
Five Ways for Digital Marketers to Protect Consumer Privacy

If George Orwell were writing today, 1984’s Winston Smith would be working as a “Doublespeak” specialist crafting privacy policies and creating self-regulatory regimes.  That’s not what consumers and citizens need in the interactive marketing era.   All Americans should have their privacy respected and protected when they go online—including when they use mobile phones.

1.     Tell your users what you actually say to your advertisers—about how the profiling and targeting process really works.  There is a disconnect that is unfair and deceptive between what companies say in their privacy policies and pitch to their clients and potential partners.   Be honest about the “360 degree” ways you engage in online marketing.

2.     Don’t collect information and target consumers based on their interests in finance and health.  These two most “sensitive” categories should be opt-in only.   When consumers go online for loans, credit, mortgages, and health concerns they require the upmost privacy.  Although online financial, health and so-called lead-generation advertising is big business, consumers should not be forced to have their online financial and health behavior stealthfully-tracked and compiled.  The risks to consumers are great if we don’t develop special rules for this data.

3.     Racial and ethnic profiling data should also be opt-in. Hispanics, African-Americas, Asian-Americans and other minorities are increasingly the focus of a growing behavioral targeting and online marketing apparatus.  In the “offline” world, we have witnessed a disturbing use of racial profiling practices to discriminate against individuals.  In today’s online environment, users are being identified as being a member of a racial or ethnic group without either their awareness or consent.  While we all want to see the growth of diversely owned online publishing, it should not be done at the expense of civil liberties in the digital era.  We must prevent the growth of online racial profiling, that when tied to income, geography and other data can be used to create 21st Century forms of discrimination.

4.     Don’t use neuromarketing and other subliminal and subconscious-based advertising.   Fortune 1000 advertisers and online marketers such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Google are using new forms of ad testing and development involving the latest tools of neuroscience, such as fMRI’s and EEGs.  Neuromarketing’s goal is to directly influence a consumer’s subconscious, and when combined with the power of online data targeting,  offers powerful—and frightening—new forms of manipulation.

5.     Users need to consent to having their profiles be bought and sold on so-called online ad exchanges.  Selling off the right to target a consumer online, via real-time auctions that happen in milliseconds, is dehumanizing.  Nor should we permit the growing combination of offline and online databases to be used for targeting, including via these new digital auction houses.

Interactive marketing is now a fundamental operating principle for the cross-platform media economy throughout the world.   But right now, it’s a digital “wild west” that doesn’t serve the interests of consumers, citizens and most marketers.

The new “Digital Advertising Alliance” self-reg plan. See if it tells consumers what its sponsor ad groups really say to each other. That they track and target your “digital footprint”

On Monday, the new self-regulation magical “icon” that is designed to make the online ad industry’s privacy problems disappear will be unveiled.  A new group called the “Digital Advertising Alliance” will unveil the icon-based plan–all timed to help head-off the kinds of protections and safeguards consumers require.  The current financial crisis affecting tens of millions of Americans require that government and big business groups do more than pay digital lip service to consumer protection.

As a kind of litmus test for the new self-regulation effort, see if the icon and the information connected to it really informs you about how data on you is collected and used for profiling, tracking and targeting. For example, last week, the Interactive Advertising Association (IAB), one of the key backers of the new Alliance, released a guide to targeting consumers at the local level.  Here’s excerpts of what they say.  See if that little icon is being honest when you click it.  Of course, we really require rules that eliminate the kind and amount of data that can be collected on you and you family and friends in the first place–as well as honest disclosure on the process.  Note as well that all that data on you is expensive–and others are cashing in on information that belongs to you!  From the new “Targeting Local Markets” guide:

Explicit profile data Targeting. definition–
Explicit data is “registration quality data” collected either online or offline. For online registration data, the user has certain attributes in his or her registration profile at a particular site or service, and that data is associated with the user’s Web cookie or some sort of audience database when the user next logs in. Offline registration data includes the sorts of data held in the massive offline direct response industry databases built up over the last several decades. These are then matched to a user online when that user logs in somewhere that is a partner of the data company. The site at which the user logs in, usually an online mail or similar site, sends the name/email combination to the data company, which then makes the match and sends back data…pricing–In general, first party data commands a far more variable premium than third party data…Third party data is usually available in much larger quantities, and yet there is often a fee of anywhere between $0.50 to $2.00 or more paid to the data provider by the ad seller – thus increasing the cost of goods sold (COGS) on the ad, and therefore increasing the price…

Behavioral Targeting (Implicit profile data Targeting)-definition-
Behavioral Targeting is the ability to serve online advertising based on profiles that are inferred from an individual user’s technical footprint and viewing behavior…As the medium has grown from a “browsing” experience to interactional so have the levels of information gathered. Newer forms of information include the data collected about influences, social preferences through social networks and an individual user’s content created online…The data is often gathered in real-time and can be used for real-time decision-making so that relevant advertising can be delivered dynamically to an individual user during their online session…Behaviorally targeted advertising commands a higher price because of targeted placement versus general run-of-site (ROS) advertising…Behavioral Targeting can be highly accurate when the user is leaving a digital footprint of their activities as they move through the Web.

Google’s Ad Targeting on Finance & Health via its Exchange: Do you know this?

Google tells users, policymakers and reporters that its “ad preference manager” is an effective consumer tool that addresses behavioral marketing.  But on its Doubleclick Ad Exchange, advertisers can use Google provided tools to target online consumers based on a wide range of product and issue “vertical” categories, including health and finance.  Here’s what Google says advertisers can target in the health and financial area.  Ask yourself.  Did you know this and shouldn’t all this be truly transparent, under full user control, with real safeguards about how such information can be obtained and used?  We do. Google isn’t the only one doing this, of course:
Doubleclick Category Targeting Codes:
category::Finance
category::Finance>Accounting & Auditing
category::Finance>Accounting & Auditing>Tax Preparation & Planning
category::Finance>Banking
category::Finance>Credit & Lending
category::Finance>Credit & Lending>Auto Financing
category::Finance>Credit & Lending>College Financing
category::Finance>Credit & Lending>Credit Cards
category::Finance>Credit & Lending>Debt Management
category::Finance>Credit & Lending>Home Financing
category::Finance>Currencies & Foreign Exchange
category::Finance>Financial Planning
category::Finance>Grants & Financial Assistance
category::Finance>Insurance
category::Finance>Insurance>Auto Insurance
category::Finance>Insurance>Health Insurance
category::Finance>Insurance>Home Insurance
category::Finance>Investing
category::Finance>Investing>Commodities & Futures Trading
category::Finance>Retirement & Pension

Health
category::Health
category::Health>Aging & Geriatrics
category::Health>Aging & Geriatrics>Alzheimer’s Disease
category::Health>Alternative & Natural Medicine
category::Health>Alternative & Natural Medicine>Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine
category::Health>Alternative & Natural Medicine>Cleansing & Detoxification
category::Health>Health Conditions
category::Health>Health Conditions>AIDS & HIV
category::Health>Health Conditions>Allergies
category::Health>Health Conditions>Arthritis
category::Health>Health Conditions>Cancer
category::Health>Health Conditions>Cold & Flu
category::Health>Health Conditions>Diabetes
category::Health>Health Conditions>Ear Nose & Throat
category::Health>Health Conditions>Eating Disorders
category::Health>Health Conditions>GERD & Digestive Disorders
category::Health>Health Conditions>Genetic Disorders
category::Health>Health Conditions>Heart & Hypertension
category::Health>Health Conditions>Infectious Diseases
category::Health>Health Conditions>Infectious Diseases>Parasites & Parasitic Diseases
category::Health>Health Conditions>Infectious Diseases>Vaccines & Immunizations
category::Health>Health Conditions>Injury
category::Health>Health Conditions>Neurological Disorders
category::Health>Health Conditions>Obesity
category::Health>Health Conditions>Pain Management
category::Health>Health Conditions>Pain Management>Headaches & Migraines
category::Health>Health Conditions>Respiratory Conditions
category::Health>Health Conditions>Respiratory Conditions>Asthma
category::Health>Health Conditions>Skin Conditions
category::Health>Health Conditions>Sleep Disorders
category::Health>Health Education & Medical Training
category::Health>Health Foundations & Medical Research
category::Health>Medical Devices & Equipment
category::Health>Medical Facilities & Services
category::Health>Medical Facilities & Services>Doctors’ Offices
category::Health>Medical Facilities & Services>Hospitals & Treatment Centers
category::Health>Medical Facilities & Services>Medical Procedures
category::Health>Medical Facilities & Services>Medical Procedures>Medical Tests & Exams
category::Health>Medical Facilities & Services>Medical Procedures>Surgery
category::Health>Medical Facilities & Services>Physical Therapy
category::Health>Medical Literature & Resources
category::Health>Medical Literature & Resources>Medical Photos & Illustration
category::Health>Men’s Health
category::Health>Mental Health
category::Health>Mental Health>Anxiety & Stress
category::Health>Mental Health>Depression
category::Health>Mental Health>Learning & Developmental Disabilities
category::Health>Mental Health>Learning & Developmental Disabilities>ADD & ADHD
category::Health>Nursing
category::Health>Nursing>Assisted Living & Long Term Care
category::Health>Nutrition
category::Health>Nutrition>Special & Restricted Diets
category::Health>Nutrition>Special & Restricted Diets>Cholesterol Issues
category::Health>Nutrition>Vitamins & Supplements
category::Health>Oral & Dental Care
category::Health>Pediatrics
category::Health>Pharmacy
category::Health>Pharmacy>Drugs & Medications
category::Health>Public Health
category::Health>Public Health>Health Policy
category::Health>Public Health>Occupational Health & Safety
category::Health>Public Health>Poisons & Overdoses
category::Health>Reproductive Health
category::Health>Reproductive Health>Birth Control
category::Health>Reproductive Health>Erectile Dysfunction
category::Health>Reproductive Health>Infertility
category::Health>Reproductive Health>OBGYN
category::Health>Reproductive Health>Sex Education & Counseling
category::Health>Reproductive Health>Sexual Enhancement
category::Health>Reproductive Health>Sexually Transmitted Diseases
category::Health>Substance Abuse
category::Health>Substance Abuse>Smoking & Smoking Cessation
category::Health>Substance Abuse>Steroids & Performance-Enhancing Drugs
category::Health>Vision Care
category::Health>Vision Care>Eyeglasses & Contacts
category::Health>Women’s Health

Google & Microsoft Tout their Mobile Targeting Clout, inc. Behavioral, Location, Gender, etc.

My CDD and USPIRG asked the FTC in January 2009 to investigate mobile marketing and its threat to both privacy and consumer protection issues (Ringleader Digital, now the subject of lawsuits and stories in the WSJ and NYT, was included in the complaint, btw).  Online mobile marketers, including Microsoft and Google, illustrate how regulators in the U.S. and abroad should require safeguards to protect the public from unfair and deceptive practices–including those that involve their privacy.  In Ad Age, both Google and Microsoft loudly proclaim what their mobile marketing services can do for brands, ads and marketers.  Here are some choice excerpts:

Microsoft:  “Microsoft Advertising’s industry-leading mobile display and search advertising solutions engage more than 43 million on-the-go U.S. consumers each month—regardless of a user’s mobile phone or wireless carrier. Its innovative ad placements and ad formats include display, rich media, search, video and custom in-app ad units…

Advanced Targeting Options
  • Profile targeting: age, gender, household income, location, time of day
  • Behavioral targeting: more than 120 custom segments (e.g., “movie watchers” and “business travelers”)
  • Device: make and model
  • Wireless carriers: on-deck inventory
  • Keyword targeting: exact or broad match…Complete mobile ad solutions for automotive, CPG, entertainment, financial services, retail, technology, telecommunications, travel and other sectors…
  • More than 43 million, or 55 percent of active mobile web users in U.S.
  • More than 80 million active mobile users globally in 32 countries.”

Google: “Today’s consumers are on the move. More than ever before, audiences are searching and browsing the web on their mobile devices. How do advertisers connect with the on-the-go consumer…As customers go mobile, advertisers need smart mobile advertising strategies. With Google, they can easily target and tailor messages according to location and automatically show their customers relevant local business information or phone numbers to enable them to take immediate action. Once a campaign is up and running, marketers can measure their results via detailed reports. Additionally, integrated mobile reporting in Google Analytics allows them to track and optimize conversion, e-commerce and engagement metrics on mobile devices. They can take advantage of Google’s mobile-specific ad formats. Click-to-call text ads, animated mobile banner ads, click-to-download ads and other display ad formats are examples of how Google is innovating for the small screen.  Google closed its acquisition of AdMob, one of the world’s leading mobile advertising networks, in May. AdMob’s innovative rich media ad units—including full-screen expandable, animated banner and interactive video—create opportunities for advertisers to engage with a relevant audience on their mobile devices. Now the Google and AdMob teams are working to create new ways to deliver engaging and innovative advertising experiences that will help marketers drive their businesses forward…

CASE STUDY

CHALLENGE: Esurance, a direct-to-consumer personal car insurance company, wanted to ensure that customers could do business with it on their own terms and at their own convenience… To make the connection between mobile users and Esurance agents, Esurance used Google mobile ads with integrated click-to-call functionality. The CTC ads gave mobile users the option of clicking through to Esurance’s mobile-optimized landing page or initiating a phone call with a licensed insurance agent…Results…

  • Boosted conversion rates: Click-to-call mobile ads drove a 30 percent to 35 percent higher response.”

PS:  Attention Music Lovers.  In the same Ad Age piece, the online music service Pandora exclaims that it can provide:“Through powerful hypertargeting, reach the right person, at the right time, without waste. Target based on age, day, gender, location, mobile platform, time and type of music…Pandora offers a broad array of formats and rich media functions to create an immersive mobile experience, including:

  • Tap to video
  • Drag and drop
  • Tap to app
  • Tap to call
  • Tap to e-mail
  • Tap to expand
  • Tap to find a location
  • Tap to iTunes
  • Tap to mobile webpage
  • Standard banners”

Google’s new `simplifed’ Privacy Policy: More disclosure and honesty required [updated]

Last week Google announced it was “simplifying and updating” its privacy policies.  As it so often does, the announcement was framed as a `we did for your good’ kind of effort.  “[W]e want to make our policies more transparent and understandable,” it explained, noting that “most privacy policies are still too hard to understand.” But as so often with Google and other online marketers, you have to both read between the digital lines and also analyze what’s really going on.

Google’s revised policy, which takes effect October 3, fails to really explain to consumers/users what’s actually going on.  Like other privacy policies, Google claims that all its data collection is to “provide you with a better experience and to improve the quality of our services.”  But what they really mean–and what the Congress, the FTC and other regulators must require them to disclose–is that they have crafted a wide-ranging system designed to foster personalized data collection and online targeting.  Missing from the revised Privacy Policy (which Google, btw, is pitching to privacy advocates and no doubt others as a  paragon of digital virtue) is any candid disclosure on how its Doubleclick, Admob, Google Display Network, Ad Exchange, Teracent, and other services collect information from and about us.

Google isn’t alone–Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and everyone else rely on a purposefully deceptive privacy policy to engage in data collection activities that require disclosure and individual user control.  Google is also reshaping its privacy policy to better capture all the data it can collect across multiple platforms and applications. Here, just for the record, is what Google advertised in Ad Age’s recent Ad Exchange and online advertising guide [excerpt]:  No matter how you define performance, the Google Display Network offers a solution. By bringing more measurability and precision to your advertising, it enables you to create, target and optimize ads based on real-time data, meaning better returns for you.

The Google Display Network helps advertisers and agencies achieve performance at scale by delivering relevant, accountable ads to their target audiences—in more places, more often…Precisely target your audience: The Google Display Network’s technology enables you to find customers based on their interests, sites they visit and when they’re engaging with relevant content via contextual targeting, or show specific messages to users who’ve already visited your site with remarketing…The Google Display Network provides opportunities to advertise in all such environments—feeds, games, mobile, social networks and video streams— enabling you to create an immersive experience for your audience.

PS.  Well, Google just also announced what its interactive display ad system can do for marketers.  How come this isn’t in the privacy policy in understandable language and full consumer control? Excerpt:  Advertising with Google used to be all about four lines of text, on Google.com and on our partner sites. No longer. Did you know that, outside of ads alongside search results, more than 40 percent of the ads that we show are now non-text ads? And that doesn’t include the 45 billion ads that our DoubleClick advertising products serve every day across the web.

We get excited by display advertising for a number of reasons…Teracent’s technology can automatically tailor and select the creative elements in an ad, and adjust them based on location, language, weather and even the past performance of ads, to show the optimal ad.  We’re focused on helping advertisers get the best results from their campaigns—by enabling creative branding campaigns, precise targeting, wide reach and effective measurement. Over recent years, we’ve added a ton of new features to YouTube and the Google Display Network, to help advertisers get—and measure—the results they’re after. From remarketing to Campaign Insights to video targeting on YouTube, we’re building tools that are helping advertisers get great results and enabling them to run some of the most amazing ad campaigns the world has ever seen.