COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - June 1, 2010) -  A paper presented last Friday at the La Londe Conference in Service Management in La Londe les Maures, France demonstrates a new, non-invasive approach to behavioral targeting. This methodology developed by Professors Don Schultz and Martin Block (both of the Medill School at Northwestern University), using BIGreseach^® Simultaneous Media Usage^® Survey data, avoids online privacy issues by using services people subscribe to to predict purchase behaviors. The presentation demonstrated how this method can improve the predictability of purchase behaviors 20-70%.

The approach re-frames the whole question of behavioral targeting. Consumers often aren't aware of electronic tags and "cookies" and such tactics can often be perceived as invasions of privacy. This research concludes that non-invasive service indicators -- information consumers willingly provide via a survey -- can be used to enhance existing behavioral targeting approaches at minimal cost.

"Relating service indicators to consumer purchases bridges the gap between services people use and the products people buy," said Professor Don Schultz of Northwestern. "The example developed in the paper is only the tip of the iceberg and holds great promise for low cost, non-invasive predictability."

Key Points - "Expanding the Success of Behavioral Targeting with Service Resource Availability":

• Online behavioral targeting today is focused primarily on using "cookies" attached to web-based consumer searches. From these tags, algorithms are developed to estimate customer potential and then are used to deliver targeted advertising messages. 
• The current system is generally based on a limited linear predictive model to generate results. 
• This paper provides a methodology that extends and expands beyond tagging methodology to other, non-direct contact product categories. 
• It demonstrates how adding commonly available consumer service indicators can be used to effectively increase the predictability of frequent and non-frequent purchases. 
• In addition to avoiding privacy issues found in the current system, this methodology demonstrates the value of additional customer services resources as a method of improving general marketing capabilities. 

Read the full complimentary paper: http://info.bigresearch.com

About BIGresearch®
BIGresearch® consumer intelligence provides analysis of behavior in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive and media. The BIGresearch Consumer Intentions and Actions® Survey (CIA®) of 8,000+ respondents is conducted monthly and the Simultaneous Media Usage® Survey (SIMM®) of 15,000+ respondents is conducted semi-annually. More information is available at http://www.bigresearch.com.

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