27 February 2009
What’s in a name?
Posted by robgraham under: Targeting; behavioral targeting .
For many years I’ve been of the mind that one of the best branding tools that a company has at their disposal is a complete change of identity. Now this is really a double edged sword. For a company with a long history of positive branding, to leave all that behind in exchange for a new identity would most likely be a bad decision. On the other hand, if a brand has found itself getting tired in the marketplace, has become the spectacle of public ridicule or derision, or is no longer pointing at the same audience it once was, then a new moniker can help breathe life into an old brand.
The reason I bring this up is because my friends at Revenue Science, made a decision this past week to break away from their old identity in favor of a new identity, as a way of doing a better job at branding, who they are and what they do. As a result, Audience Science has emerged as a seemingly new player in the world of online behavioral targeting but also benefits from established foundation of technology, an understanding of the market, and the wisdom that comes with having built a behavioral targeting foundation from the ground up.
I personally applaud the change in that the new name states categorically what the focus of the company is all about. While any business should be in the business of gathering revenue, the former Revenue Science has always been in the business of gathering audiences. To that point, the new name matches their marketing objectives head on.
It’s also worth mentioning that AudienceScience is also rolling out a new property designed to serve as a matchmaker of sorts between business marketers and business decision-makers. Inflection Point Media (inflectionpointmedia.com) was founded to help marketers reach small business decision-makers who have been prequalified by their proven intent to make purchases that are related to their businesses. Traditionally, online advertising has had to rely on contextual linking in order to attempt to get the right message in front of the right consumer. But often does a poor job of identifying intent. The focus and function of inflection point media is to make this process a lot easier for both marketers and for business consumers looking for solutions.