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September 12-15, 2010  |  Coronado, CA
Published: September 22, 2010
A pixel-free future for online marketing
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Learn how a unique approach from Akamai Advertising Decision Solutions can help you drive improved awareness and transactions with your online marketing campaigns.

Let's face it: Pixels are a pain. They take time to deploy, IT resources are required, and they slow down your site considerably. And even then, you're still not capturing all user behaviors.

But marketers need not feel the pixel pinch any longer, says Gareth Ouellette, product manager for Akamai Advertising Decision Solutions. In his Spotlight presentation at the iMedia Brand Summit in Coronado, Calif., Ouellette introduced his company's unique pixel-free approach to online advertising.

Leveraging its robust list of publisher and advertiser partners, Akamai ADS enables brands to reach their target audiences at all levels of the purchase funnel -- without the need to deploy a single pixel for tracking.

At the top of the funnel, ADS Descriptive Segments enable brand advertisers to target audiences based on demographic and psychographic characteristics. Meanwhile, lower in the funnel, advertisers can leverage ADS Predictive Segments, which uses predictive modeling based on actual purchase data to help advertisers increase sales by targeting in-market consumers.

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According to Ouellette, the benefits of ditching your pixels and embracing the Akamai approach, in which all user behaviors are captured, include:

  • The ability to run larger campaigns
  • Greater campaign effectiveness
  • No IT development required
  • Faster site performance

And the results are real. Jenn McClain, director of ecommerce marketing for Chico's FAS, was on hand to discuss how her company -- which operates the Chico's, White House Black Market, and Soma Intimates sites -- has driven improved awareness and transactions across all its properties using both ADS Descriptive Segments and ADS Predictive Segments. According to McClain, her company enjoys a $4 return for every $1 it spends with Akamai. The pixel-free approach has helped Chico's FAS meet its ROI goals in all seasons and has also had a positive effect on the company's search marketing program.

By serving as an intermediary between advertisers and ad networks and publishers, Akamai ADS enables sites to maintain control over their user behavioral data, while helping marketers identify and connect with specific, highly interested audiences that were previously unavailable.

How are those pixels looking now?

Lori Luechtefeld is editor of iMedia Connection.

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