New D&B unit targets display ads based on search results

Database company D&B is launching a new media property it says will allow mar­keters to reach consumers searching for businesses, business services and prod­ucts when they are looking to buy.

With the newly created unit, D&B Digital, marketers can reach business decision-makers as they are looking to purchase a product or service, said Mark Walters, VP of D&B Digital.

The “most exciting” aspect of this is a program called content match, which is done in conjunction with another D&B property, AllBusiness.com, he said.

AllBusiness is a portal that features con­tent and information on products and ser­vices for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and professionals. When a businessperson searches for something in a search engine, for example, “shipping expenses,” the page on AllBusiness.com that would naturally show as a result could then also feature an ad from FedEx, Walters explained.

“Advertisers can reach these people at the point when they are looking to make a business purchase,” he said.

In general, Walters said, this kind of tar­geted and timely marketing will continue to be more of a popular trend, especially as marketers are looking for the most efficient and measurable way to spend their dollar.

“The overall trend, and one of the big challenges facing the industry right now, is that marketers need to reach out to users that are actively engaged,” he said. “Marketers are really struggling to hit the audience when actively engaged, and in this economic climate, there is no toler­ance for that.”

With marketers already using search engine marketing, programs such as con­tent match will become more popular as they can be tied into a company’s search marketing, said Dan Silmore, VP of market­ing for AllBusiness.com.

“They can take the search terms they are already paying for, and our content man­agement system will return those results with their ad after a search,” he said.

With integrated programs such as this, companies can “come in through the side door” as well as the front door.

“The goal really is to live on the right side of the Google page as well as the center,” he said