Weather.com Develops Real-Time Data Ad Targeting

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Weather.com has begun using audience segmentation data from Lotame to develop real-time targeting services based on weather conditions, time and interests for companies like Home Depot, Toyota, Disney and others. The platform relies on the potential of weather data as a powerful predictor of consumer purchase intent.

Weather.com began offering the audience targeting through Lotame about two months ago. Aside from audience segmentation data, the company also serves ads to similar sets of consumers beyond weather.com and to Twitter through a forthcoming service called Weather Extender, according to Jeremy Steinberg, senior vice president of ad sales for The Weather Company.

When brand marketers want to reach an audience segment experiencing 72-degrees and sunny weather conditions, Weather.com can serve the ads on Weather.com, mobile, Twitter and beyond, Steinberg said, explaining that roughly 20% of the site's audience checks the weather first thing in the morning.

"We have an insurance company that wants to own the word 'hail,' so we figured out a way to activate messages to areas impacted by hail before, during and after," Steinberg said. "Weather could also trigger a message based on specific degrees."

Google's emphasis on map integration into a variety or apps, utilities and engine at its annual I/O developer conference confirms a trend toward linking ads and services to location and environmental conditions.

Along the same focus, Weather Underground, along with the WunderMap feature, an interactive weather map system Weather.com acquired last year, will likely become the heart of some future services, according to Steinberg.

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