• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, August 27, 2009

Struq officially launched a real-time behavioral retargeting platform Thursday in the United Kingdom that customizes ads in real time as consumers click from one site to the next. Tests have been underway for more than a year.

Virgin Games and Genie Ventures have been testing Struq's behavioral targeting technology, delivering tailored ads to consumers based on online interests and activity. Although the UK remains the company's focus, discussions to determine a rollout date in the United States are underway.

The platform supports dynamic ad targeting and retargeting based on consumer behavior online. About 90% of Struq's business comes from retargeting, serving about 90 million impressions monthly, according to Glen Calvert, sales director, Struq, London.

Potential consumers are served up custom display ads based on information collected as they view ads and articles across the network of about 250 Web sites that Struq supports. For instance, a consumer searches for travel destination, dates and times through a network of third-party providers. But the person closes the browser window without making a purchase. A few days later the consumer returns to the Web.

Struq's technology identifies the computer cookie and Web page pixel tag, serving up an ad with specific flight details from Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, for example. "Rather than see a generic Virgin Atlantic or British Airways ad, you're seeing a dynamic targeted ad with content that's completely relevant to the customer," Calvert says.

The display ads typically serve up with headline, description, price, call to action, and visual image.

The next step is to build out the data network to develop structured channels in finance and travel. The goal is to bring in and target new Web traffic with ads. The only way to do that is by building in a quality data network through third-party data partners that can offer higher conversion rates, Calvert says.

"The golden egg will be when you can take behavioral targeting between mobile and PCs," he says. "Once we work that out it will become very interesting."

Calvert says that when Struq expands offerings further west, potential competitors in the U.S. will include companies such as Dapper.