Bluekai Explain Their Data Exchange Platform And Hint At European Move

Data is fast becoming a valuable commodity in the new exchange trading environment. It is being traded by publishers, ad networks, specialist buyers and agencies to power online advertising campaigns. Good data can turn “dumb” ad impressions into an intelligent media buy. And the demand for this user data among media buyers is helping publishers develop a viable new revenue stream.
One of the leading data trading platforms in the US is Bluekai. Launched in September 2008, BlueKai is an intent-focused data exchange with access to over 100 million unique buyers, focusing primarily on consumer intent in the retail, auto and travel sectors. They aggregate user information based on cookies, IP, and Publisher-owned information.
Trading volumes have been growing steadily on the Bluekai platform – with the number of buyers and the spend-per-trader now doubling every quarter. The company has been busy rolling out new services to its customers and implementing codes of practice for data trading on its platform.
Bluekai’s Rowena Toguchi took time last week to speak to Farneymedia about their exchange technology, how they are attempting to lead the way in data protection and when they might be setting up in Europe:
How does the Bluekai platform work?

BlueKai manages the largest online intent data exchange that gives marketers, publishers and ad networks access to valuable data a-la-carte to impact in-market audience targeting. Our technology is based on aggregating anonymous behaviors from top tier ecommerce sites , which then goes through a classification process. It is then made available in our exchange for bidding, purchase and immediate influence on real-time campaign targeting. We do not own inventory and do not serve ads – we simply enable our partners to use our quality data to deliver better targeting across their media.

How does it benefit data providers, such as publishers and ad networks? Can they develop a viable revenue stream by trading on the Bluekai platform?

Absolutely. The BlueKai Exchange functions on an auction-model, meaning we let the data buyers set the price they want to pay for the data. This way, we let the market determine the value of the data – the better the results, the more they are willing to pay for the data. In turn, data providers are compensated fairly on the quality of the data they are bringing into the exchange. In addition, there are added benefits for publishers to work with data exchanges like BlueKai:
They can generate more revenue through one marketplace that encourages competition and bid up from multiple parties who value the data. BlueKai data is used by marketers, ad networks, and publishers who all drive up monetization for the creator of the data.
They won’t have to make a hard choice of selecting several of hundreds of ad networks to partner with on individual data deals.
They can work with a company who is consumer conscious and active in driving full transparency on consumer data sharing practices.
The data bought on Bluekai is often used on the exchanges to better target advertising. Do you partner with exchanges? How does this partnership work?
Anyone with inventory can use BlueKai data to impact better targeting – this includes ad network, ad exchanges, publishers and portals. Many ad networks and marketers buy our data and then target that data on the leading ad exchanges.

You’re clearly concerned about user data? How do you allow users to protect their data?

Currently we are taking active steps to help raise awareness for transparent data sharing practices by bringing understanding to the consumer. The BlueKai Registry allows consumers to see the type of information that is being collected based on browsing activity on their machine. They also get the option to change these saved preferences based on their actual interest or purchase intent. Of course, the user can still choose to opt-out of data collection from BlueKai at www.bluekai.com or across the Internet at http://www.networkadvertising.org/. In addition, BlueKai does not retain ANY user data for more than 6 months. We think that this is an area that needs a lot more industry focus. Consumers need to be aware of what data is collected and we will continue to push publishes to provide clearer and simpler ways for consumers to take control of their own data.

What is intent data – and how does it differ other cookie information?

At BlueKai, we focus on aggregating intent data, which is strictly qualified as actions taken that shows clear intent towards a purchase. We consider these low-funnel activities that happen before someone makes a purchase. These activities include searching for travel, comparing automobile prices, actions on a loan calculator or price comparison shopping. Intent data is a prime indicator for purchases and is very effective at driving measurable results. This is the core of BlueKai’s business.
In the market today, there is an abundance of top funnel data including contextual, demographic, and geo data. We believe this type of data is more suitable for branding and awareness campaigns to push consumers deeper into the purchase funnel. Through partnerships with other data providers, we also offer these types of data within the BlueKai Exchange; sold and typically bidded at a different price range from the intent data categories.

Can you explain your new Certification Program in more detail?

BlueKai recently rolled out a new Certification Program to streamline agency and marketer adoption of BlueKai data. When we launched the BlueKai Exchange, we saw immediate excitement from the agency community on the need to define quality “data” to power their online campaigns. However, buying data separate of the media appealed to the early adopter agencies. For the rest of the agencies, the extra legal steps and separate insertion orders created work many of them would prefer to avoid. This prompted the creation of the Certification program with the goal of helping agencies get from “interest” to “running BlueKai-powered campaigns” in the most streamlined way possible. We’ve received very positive feedback from the agency community and we feel the program is successful in addressing some of the adoption barriers.

Are you active in the European market?

BlueKai is not yet active in the European market, though some of our ad network partners have international coverage.

Are you intending to roll out a service in Europe?

Yes we are intending on rolling out a service in Europe – however we can not share details at this point.

Do you think EU laws on privacy are preventing BlueKai from offering a similar service in Europe?

We believe that the bar has to be raised for consumers regardless of legislation. Consumers need assurances that no sensitive data is being collected. Consumers need complete control of their data. Consumers need awareness on how their data is being used. Consumers need viable and functional opt-out mechanisms. This is true in Europe and it is true in the US.