• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, July 30, 2009

What it is, is a way of targeting “very relevant advertising to consumers,” said  Nancy Apatov, VP-Ad Products and Integrated Content, Weather Channel Media Solutions.

No dispute there.

What it’s not she told OMMA Behavioral attendees during the “BT Paying The Rent” panel, is what “Some publishers and ad networks want to define it as: If someone went to a [gardening] Web site once, they’re a gardener for the rest of their lives.”

Yahoo’s Dave Zinman more or less agreed with Apatov’s “what it’s not” definition, citing the problem that occurs when, “Somebody goes to the American Airlines Web site, so all they see that day is American Airlines ads.”

But in terms of what it is, Zinman thinks it’s far more sophisticated than simply serving relevant ads to the right prospects. He thinks its about developing dynamic profiles of users that trigger experiences, including serving relevant ads, when they “reach a threshold of interest in a category.”

Apatov (Courtesty of Facebook)