Targeted
In Targeted, Mike Smith, a digital-media thought leader, offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at digital advertising which, he writes, “offers the ability to communicate with unprecedented specificity and finesse.” Smith explores the differences between digital and traditional advertising, provides an authoritative overview of the rise of digital advertising, and delves into digital advertising technologies. He also gives readers an insightful glimpse into the future of mobile and digital TV advertising.
Smith concentrates largely on paid-search advertising and real-time bidding, and demonstrates the way in which these particular “enabling technologies,” along with the sophisticated use of online data, have helped transform the advertising world. With real-time bidding, writes Smith, “advertisers are buying the right to present their ads to each individual user.” One of the more fascinating parts of the book is Smith’s eye-opening step-by-step walkthrough of exactly how real-time bidding works.
Throughout Targeted, Smith shares relevant examples, discusses the specific companies that have pioneered digital advertising (including Google, of course), and cites current statistics (such as the fact that 44 percent of US internet users owned tablets by the end of 2013). More importantly, the author offers an expert’s view of an online arena that is changing at warp speed, and he helps readers make some sense of it all.
Reviewed by
Barry Silverstein
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
