• by Ross Fadner , November 6, 2008

Why is Havas Digital, one of the largest media buyers on the planet, building a publisher network? No, they’re not trying to build an ad network. Instead, Havas Digital CEO Don Epperson, speaking at the OMMA AdNets show in New York, explained that it’s all about data, and planning by impression instead of placement.

 

What does that mean? For example, Havas’ data-based advertising tool, Adnetik, takes cookie IDs and values each one by advertiser, based on the data it collects on each user. If a pair of financial services firms is vying for the same placement, Adnetik will attempt to choose the one best suited to the user based on the information collected from the Havas network. Craaaazy.