• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 11, 2008

Innovation Interactive has acquired behavioral targeting provider Netmining NV to build out its product offering and expand around the globe.

The acquisition gives Innovation Interactive reach into Europe. It also provides an opportunity to bring along SearchIgnite and 360i to serve global clients such as Audi, BMW and Belgacom, Danone, General Motors, Sun Microsystems, Saab and UPC. Financial details of the agreement announced Tuesday were not disclosed.

Netmining CEO Toon Vanparys will remain to spearhead efforts in Europe, as Innovation Interactive continues to follow demand for support across the globe.

Stepping into China could come in mid-2009, according to Will Margiloff, CEO of Innovation Interactive. Initially, the entrance into China would likely occur to support companies with technology, but a physical move could follow.

Margiloff said the parent company of 360i and SearchIgnite will continue to invest in products and services to help marketers "squeeze more return on investments" based on every dollar spent. "We need to find more ways to enhance technology to improve conversion rates for customers, because they now expect more from their marketing dollars," he said. "Driving targeted traffic to customer Web sites is one way we can do it."

Early in 2008, Innovation Interactive acquired i33 to strengthen 360i's design and development capabilities. SearchIgnite also made several major advancements to its online campaign management technology, and added dozens of large national and international marketers to its customer list.

Continuing the growth, Innovation Interactive will integrate Netmining technology into the SearchIgnite platform. Combining code from both applications aims to simplify the process by advertisers and marketers when embedding tags on Web pages to track search and site optimization, converting site traffic into higher conversion rates.

Netmining's algorithms analyze in real time the surfing behavior of users searching on participating sites. The technology predicts the user's action before delivering content or a lead generation form. A user might go to the show section of a retail site. They navigate the site multiple times in the same session, but close the window without making a purchase. The information is stored through a cookie. The technology can recognize the next time the user comes back and then customize the site to give them more show-related information.

Netmining integrates with most CRM platforms, including Salesforce.com, SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics. The information in the CRM app would come from forms that visitors complete on a brand Web site. The CRM platform only stores information provided by visitors to marketers, such as contact, email or subscription information.