Yahoo targeting advertising by zip code

[dwilson]

For the first time today, I saw an ad on Yahoo! that appears to be targeted by zip code. I was using Yahoo! Mail & the movie ad listed 2 nearby theaters & the times they would show the movie.

Is this something new for Y!?

[jpjones]

I've never heard of Yahoo doing that, but then again, I seldom visit Yahoo at the moment.

Just out of interest, are you on dial-up or cable? How close were the near-by theatres? Geo-targeting works on IP address, but in some cases doesn't work very well. For instance, there's a block of BT IP addresses in the UK which actually are registered to a german address (BT Satellite connection).

I wonder if Yahoo are just testing this regionalised advertising, or if it's going live in the US now.

JP

[dwilson]

I'm on DSL. Both theatres are within 20 miles.

So maybe it is IP-based ... not other information Y! had collected on me to know my home zip.

[sun818]

If you are using Yahoo! Mail, then that means you have registered with them. So, you are no longer an anonymous user, but a registered user with a profile that is tracked. I was required to divulge my zip code recently. Was it the same for you? Zip code seems macro enough to me that it doesn't feel like an invasion of privacy.

[Shak]

If you are using Yahoo! Mail, then that means you have registered with them. So, you are no longer an anonymous user, but a registered user with a profile that is tracked. I was required to divulge my zip code recently. Was it the same for you? Zip code seems macro enough to me that it doesn't feel like an invasion of privacy.

always KNEW they would go down this road, whether they have I cant tell at present being based in the UK, but makes sense :)

Shak

[2_much]

I think they will be using that information more and more.

Especially with their broadband users - imagine all the data they are collecting there!

[Hawkgirl]

They can pinpoint you pretty accurately - yes, even to zip code. Y! has an amazing database of information on their registered users. Plus they beacon-track users throughout the system, including to any "partners" that are integrated with them (such as in the Y! finance area). The amount of data they have to play with is monumental!

[dwilson]

Yes, I'm a Y! mail user. I don't recall giving my zip, but I may have.

[martinibuster]

In a conference about the future of search that I recently attended, the Y! SVP said in his presentation that tailoring search, and the entire user experience, to the user themself was something they wanted to do: including your sex, age, location.