Google is taking its data-driven advertising approach to the more traditional world of television — in Kansas City, at least.

The company is starting a small trial of local TV ads with subscribers of its Fiber fast Internet and video service. Spots can be matched based on geography, the type of program being shown, or viewing history.

Google, like a handful of other companies, is trying to bring some of the big-data advantages of online advertising to a TV landscape that still often runs on Manhattan lunches and handshake deals.

And while Google isn’t the only company experimenting in the targeted TV space, the company’s enormous ad prowess online will likely pique marketers’ interest in terms of what it can do on TV.

The Kansas City ads will show during existing ad breaks, along with national ads, on live TV and DVR-recorded programs. Local advertisers will only pay for ads that have been shown and they can limit the number of times an ad is shown to a specific TV, Google said.

“What’s really interesting about this is the behavioral aspect,” said Peter Stabler, an analyst at Wells Fargo. “This is a brave new world and a very interesting marriage of targeting from the Internet with linear TV.”

On the Internet, Google collects a lot of information on users, from Google searches, logged-in sessions of its Chrome web browser, Gmail, YouTube and Maps. It also tracks which websites many people visit, even when they’re not logged into one of its services.

From all this activity, the company gets anonymous information that gives it clues on people’s age, gender, income, location and interests and uses that to show more relevant ads online. That lets Google charge a premium for those ads because it can commit to a marketer that only the right sliver of the online audience will see the messages.

Read the full article here.

Need fresh video creative or voice talent?

Click here to learn more about Who Did That Media and how we can help you or contact us today to discuss your marketing needs: