ZDNet Raises the Bar for Targeted Web Advertising with 'ZDNet Smart Serving' Ad Program
Bell Atlantic, Evineyard and Other Advertisers Already Signed-up for Program
SAN FRANCISCO, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ZDNet (NYSE: ZDZ - news) today announced ''ZDNet Smart Serving,'' a new Web advertising program that enables advertisers to target their campaigns to ZDNet visitors that fall within distinct geographic and demographic categories. Several advertisers have already committed to running ZDNet Smart Serving campaigns, including Bell Atlantic and Evineyard.
ZDNet Smart Serving lets advertisers direct their campaigns to pinpointed segments of ZDNet's online community of 8 million unique technology-interested visitors*. The ability to define targeting by demographic and geographic characteristics is ideal for advertisers who need heightened efficiency in reaching their prospects.
''The highly regulated nature of our business requires that we handle wine sales with each state differently,'' said Michael Osborn, proprietor and executive vice president of Evineyard. ''Geographic targeting enables us to maximize the value of our ad dollars, while upholding industry regulations. We've been waiting for something like ZDNet's Smart Serving capability, which empowers us to be much more efficient with our marketing dollars.''
The ZDNet Smart Serving program adds a sophisticated new component to ZDNet's targeted advertising programs, which now include geographic and demographic targeting, in addition to ''contextual,'' or content-specific placements. For example, advertisers interested in reaching the small business community have been able to reach that audience by running a contextually relevant campaign on ZDNet's Small Business Channel. Now, through ZDNet Smart Serving, they can also choose to run a campaign that reaches visitors that are known to work in small businesses, wherever they may be on ZDNet's network of more than 60 interconnected sites.
''True targeting has always been the Holy Grail of Web advertising,'' said Barry Briggs, vice president of advertising sales and marketing for ZDNet. ''ZDNet Smart Serving, our most technically sophisticated targeting program yet, shows that we've arrived at that goal. It adds a robust new weapon to ZDNet's targeting arsenal. Now, our advertisers can choose between content targeting when they want to be in the right editorial environment for their messaging, ZDNet Smart Serving when they need to send tailored messages a specific demographic, or some combination of both when they want to maximize their efficiency.''
ZDNet Smart Serving Program Overview
The ZDNet Smart Serving program lets advertisers select from six target categories, reaching potential customers based on the following: company size, type of company, state, country, ZIP code, and Designated Market Areas (DMA). A proprietary database enables ZDNet to categorize its audience to a high degree of accuracy by matching IP-based network affiliation and anonymous user activity data from its own servers with internal demographic databases and a variety of national and 3rd party databases.
ZDNet's targeting database was designed to provide targeted ad delivery while preserving the anonymity of the site's visitors. ZDNet upholds privacy standards set by TrustE throughout its network of sites, as explained in a privacy statement posted on the ZDNet home page (http://www.zdnet.com/findit/privacy.html)
The ZDNet Smart Serving program is the latest edition to ZDNet's broad range of ad offerings, which includes several noteworthy innovations -- like Extramercials and Banner Wraps -- which have placed ZDNet among the major players in Web advertising development. ZDNet charges a premium for Smart Serving packages, and initially, a limited number of opportunities will be available to ZDNet's premier advertisers. For more details on the Smart Serving program and rates, contact Ken Evans, ZDNet's director of advertising sales and market development at 617/225-2450, or ken_evans@zd.com.
About ZDNet
Based in San Francisco, ZDNet (NYSE: ZDZ - news) develops and maintains the ZDNet Web site (http://www.zdnet.com), a leading source for technology and Internet content and commerce. By combining groundbreaking, interactive technology with editorial from its own award-winning editorial team and from Ziff-Davis' worldwide network of journalists, ZDNet produces original, compelling content and communities of common interests in technology. ZDNet is consistently ranked by Media Metrix as the number-one Web site in the News, Information and Entertainment category. ZDNet is a division of Ziff-Davis Inc.
According to Media Metrix, ZDNet Sites reached 8 million unique visitors during the month of April. ZDNet Sites consists of a broad range of interconnected technology-related sites, including ZDNet, zdnet.com pseudonyms (anchordesk.com, zdtv.com, zdnn.com, and pcmagazine.com) GameSpot.com, jobengine.com. ZDNet, as measured by Media Metrix, includes zdnet.com, zdii.com and zdu.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Although Ziff-Davis Inc. believes that the expectations reflected in its forward looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those expectations. Important cautionary statements and risk factors that would affect actual results are discussed in materials filed by Ziff-Davis Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the caption ''Risk Factors'' in the Registration Statement on Form S-1 which became effective on March 30, 1999.
SOURCE: ZDNet
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