The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) reported that in 2006 the top 50 companies on the Internet controlled 93% of all online advertising revenue. Historically, online advertisers haven’t deviated from these top sites because their ads were sure to reach their desired audiences (even if millions of other people saw them too). Now, with ad rates and competition for prime site placement skyrocketing, media planners need to look beyond the top 50, 100 and even 1,000 sites to increase ROI. A more efficient approach involves segmenting the target audience and advertising on niche sites. Compete uses a tool called BehaviorMatch™ to zero in on websites that exemplify these opportunities. Insights gained here can be used to better target ads across a larger universe of online sites and ad networks at a lower cost.

In October, we defined a segment of online wireless customers to research. Considering the decline in online wireless customers actively managing their accounts online over the past year, this could be an effective group for carriers seeking improved engagement and retention to target.

In terms of targeting sites, one place we found significant concentrations of online wireless customers (beyond contextual sites such as their carrier website, technology sites, etc.) was womensheathmag.com, the ad-supported site for Women’s Health magazine that includes diet and fitness tips and online forums. Overall, 3.9% of the US online population is a VZW customer. But with 15% penetration, womenshealthmag.com is almost 4X as rich in VZW shoppers. Since womenshealthmag.com has a high concentration of VZW online customers as compared to the overall population, it would be a good placement choice for advertisers. Concentration differences across carriers speak to the demographic make-up of each carrier’s customers. The VZW, AT&T and Sprint brands resonate with an adult female demographic, which is likely more concerned with fitness and health. T-Mobile’s online customer base tends to be younger and less family-oriented thus (we can infer) less inclined to spend time online researching health issues.

Sites like this provide a great opportunity for media planners and online marketers to advertise to specific segments of consumers with tailored messages. Continuing our example, VZW could place customer-centric ads on womenshealthmag.com communicating retention and up-sell programs. Other carriers could sponsor the magazine’s events, like a road race, while up-selling customers on GPS features, or advertise health-related content included in new data plans, aiming to lure customers of a competitor. Conversely T-Mobile probably wouldn’t want to use customer-targeted advertising on the site, knowing that higher concentrations of its customers are elsewhere on the web.

Planning tools like this help media buyers reach specific groups of consumers and tell marketers exactly how to appeal to them. Ads placed on giant sites like Yahoo! and MSN will definitely be seen by millions of consumers, but not many companies can afford that approach. On the other hand, no company can afford to miss the opportunity to tailor messages to their most important segments, no matter whether those are online wireless customers, soccer moms, music enthusiasts, business travelers, gamers, baby boomers, early technology adopters, teens, thrill seekers…

* "Overall subscribers" as according to carriers' recent earnings statements