Google has arranged to deliver more targeted ads by acquiring Teracent, a company that took intelligent display advertising to a new level. According to the Google blog:
Teracent’s technology can pick and choose from literally thousands of creative elements of a display ad in real-time — tweaking images, products, messages or colors. These elements can be optimized depending on factors like geographic location, language, the content of the website, the time of day or the past performance of different ads.
This technology can help advertisers get better results from their display ad campaigns. In turn, this enables publishers to make more money from their ad space and delivers web users better ads and more ad-funded web content.
We’re looking forward to welcoming the Teracent team to Google and to making this technology available to our display advertising clients — including those who run display ad campaigns on the Google Content Network and our DoubleClick clients.
According to Teracent:
We are excited to announce that Teracent has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Google. The infrastructure, opportunities and technical depth that Google will provide for Teracent customers means a future of product innovation for Teracent’s dynamic ad optimization platform. The transaction is subject to various closing conditions and is expected to close this quarter. Integration details will follow after close, and, in the meantime, please expect the same great Teracent performance and service as always. We are excited to finish this year on a high note for all our customers and partners and ring in an even more exciting 2010!
Teracent already was working with Yahoo on their mobile ads:
Teracent, in partnership with Yahoo!®, offers advertisers a new platform to target customers when they are away from their PC. Now through Yahoo!’s mobile SmartAds program, you can deliver highly customized and targeted messages to Yahoo!’s 25.9 MM+ on-the-go Mobile audience, according to ComScore).
Mobile SmartAds enable advertisers to customize creative to individual users in real-time with dynamically optimized ads based on user demographic and interest-based data, as well as factors such as location, time of day — even the local weather! Your campaigns are constantly updated with the most relevant message to help you connect to in-market shoppers with the right offer at the right time.
The main idea behind intelligent display is the ability to more tightly target ads to text – for example, an article about fencing would show and ad for fence posts or panels instead of a generic home improvement store ad.
