What is Online Behavioral Advertising?
The masses influenced by the advertisements in the
traditional media are replaced by the individuals affected by the
advertisements in the digital media based on personal data. Therefore, in
today's digital world, advertisers have had the opportunity to use consumers'
online data to personalize and target ads, which can include websites visited,
articles read, videos watched, and everything sought through the search engine
This method is called online behavioral advertising (OBA).There ara many identifications about online behavioral advertising. While the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines it as "an advertising based on the practice of tracking the individual's online movements in order to run ads suitable for the individual's interests"; Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) refers to "a way to make the advertisements offered on the websites you visit more suitable for you and your interests". However, the definition of the advertisement may differ. The perspective plays a decisive role here. According to McDonald and Cranor who have a lot of work in this field;Online behavioral advertising, a type of targeted advertising, collects data about an individual's online activities, determines which ad to display, and creates profiles for internet users based on various data types and inferences from this data (2010, p. 2). At this point, Turow states that the rise of digital profiling and personalization will cause social discrimination and privacy problems that can have very severe consequences. According to him, digital media has many great advantages, but companies can track the people and send their advertisements using their data. The most likely outcome that can occur is by classifying people through advertisements; competing against each other with advertisements, discounts, television suggestions and news and creating a feeling of discrimination in people (2015, p. 21). If we briefly define; online behavioral advertising can be defined as the fact that advertising companies predict the special interests and preferences of individual customers in a timely manner and as a result of the advertisement prepared specially for consumers (Shelton, 2012, p. 27).
The point we have reached shows us
that there are different perspectives. This new advertising application, which
is very functional for advertisers, does not identify people with information
such as name, surname, social security number; They claim that they only
monitor behavioral data (without personal information), which is not a problem
with privacy and privacy, and is even very useful for consumers because it
provides them with more information about themselves (Ham, 2017, p. 632).
Whereas; Turow states that these
claims are not meaningful as follows;
If a company can track your behavior
in a digital environment, possibly including your mobile phone and television,
claims that you are "anonymous" have no meaning. It does not make
anyone anonymous to delete your name and address after companies use offline
data in addition to the data they collect on the Internet, for example, to
obtain information such as your shopping patterns and the value of your home.
Whether you are aware or not, companies will act based on information collected
and shared about you (2015, p. 21).
Although online behavioral advertising is controversial, interest by advertisers continues to increase.
Graphic 1. The Most Preferred Advertising Methods in terms of Activity and Efficiency
Source: www.ponemon.org
In the study conducted by the Ponemon
Institute Market Research company on the methods of advertising preferred by
advertising companies in 2010; behavioral advertising ranked first as the most
preferred advertising method. IAB Turkey President Ahmet Kursun regarding digital
advertising investments in 2018
"…IAB all brands in Turkey to make a purchase based on the data,
campaign data to base, we are invited to contribute to the economy by
productive investment" The explanation in the form reveals the importance
of data-based behavioral advertising investments.
Since online behavioral advertising
is the method of preparing tailor-made advertising based on digital traces left
by the user, it is preferred by advertisers. The information obtained by this
type of advertisement has a concentrated quality that directs it towards the
right audience for advertisers. However, this data is also the focus of
discussions in terms of security and privacy(Nilay AKGÜN AKAN,2019,P.85).
Graphic 2. Personal Data Ranking
Considered Incompatible with GDPR(General Data Protection Regulation)
Source: www.emarketer.com
In 2018, in a research conducted by
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) with industry leading company managers(227), "What kind of
personal customer data can you no longer use as part of GDPR compliance?"
A large proportion of the answers to the question appears to be the data
used for online behavioral advertising.
Advertisers must choose behavioral
data to select the right audience and deliver digital display ads.Almost
all agencies, ad platforms, and advertisers appear to use audience targeting,
behavioral advertising, and behavioral data to deliver digital display ads.
According to the survey conducted by Nielsen Marketing in April 2013, more than
nine of the 10 agencies and the advertising platform and over eight of the 10
advertisers are using it(Nilay AKGÜN AKAN,2019,P.86).
Graphic 3. U.S. Advertising Agencies,
Advertisers, Ad Platforms Ratios Using Audience Targeting in Digital Display
Ads
Source: www.emarketer.com
When we look at online behavioral
advertising has multiple functions. Some of the functions are; It is a method that
includes data collection method and an advertisement type.
Actors and
Roles of Online Behavioral Advertising
There are many players in the online
behavioral advertising industry, and at this point, it is similar to the
consumers, advertisers, agencies, media, legal institutions (Yaman, 2009, p.
30-36), who are the stakeholders of the ad formation process. Because the
emergence of an advertisement depends on the advertiser who needs it first, the
unit or the advertising agency that prepares the ad and the presence of the
media as the communication channel, that is, the intended messages reach the
target audience. (Peltekoğlu, 2010, p. 98). Therefore, stakeholders of the
online behavioral advertising world are likewise expressed as advertisers, publishers,
ad networks and users (Berber, 2014, p. 15).
Working Principle of Online Behavioral Advertising
Behavioral ads preferred by agencies
benefit the user on both sides: the customer and the advertiser. However, data
collection methods are open to discussion.Customer may not like following their
steps. Even phones can be heard in
behavioral advertising.
As described so far, online
behavioral advertising is the way to send personalized advertising by
identifying the interests and needs of individuals with the help of the data
obtained in various ways. While personal advertising is very convenient for
advertiser companies and advertising agencies, it is at a point where it is
criticized for monitoring the person's behavior and making various targets. The
criticized points also make the way this ad type obtains data is important.
(Nilay Akan, 2020, p. 93)
Data Acquisition Techniques in Online Behavioral
Advertising
If digital advertisement, data
collected and consumer trust are considered as three areas that intersect;
Online behavioral advertising targeting online advertising to consumers with
monitoring, profiling and internet-based analysis technologies is at the
intersection of these areas. Because,
according to Hunt, digital data is the new currency of the digital
economy, and online advertising holds the keys to both expand the data
collection and monetize its use in target and advertising (2016, p. 56). As a result, how data
is collected and used is important. It also provides information about online
behavioral advertising.
As a matter of fact, there are
various data acquisition mechanisms in determining the interests, preferences,
orientations and needs of the consumers. Big data, which is used in the field
of advertising as it is used in many fields and contains different studies from
different disciplines, is a subject that should be examined first in terms of
advertising. (Nilay Akan, 2020, p. 93).
How Online Behavioral Advertising Works
The online media and advertising
industry is currently using the 'Real Time Bidding' (RTB) system, which means
'real time auction'. Dr. Johnny Ryan reveals how the system works in detail in
his report entitled "Behavioral advertising and personal data"
(www.brave.com, 11/10/2018). With this system, when a website loads on its
page, the personal information of the users visiting that website is sent to
tens or hundreds of companies, which data;
What users read and watch,
Location information and IP address
information,
The information of the device
used,
Tracking IDs and cookie matches that try to
identify the person the next time the device is used (thus, a profile is built
by combining it with offline personal information),
It contains the information
collected through the data medium (such as income group, age, gender, habits,
social media use, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, political
orientation, etc.).(Nilay Akan,2020,p.116).
The publication of this personal data
within the scope of RTB is called "RTB Offer Request" and it is
broadcast widely. RTBs consist of two systems: "Demand Directional
Platforms" (DSP) and "Supply Directional Platforms" (SSP).
Personal data is transmitted to these systems and DSPs determine whether to
advertise to the targeted user. DSPs act like advertisers and make decisions
based on the profile of the user they want the advertiser to target.
Source: www.brave.com
The most important commercial
incentive for many advertising technology companies is to exchange data with as
many business partners as possible and share this data with brokers or parent
companies, which, according to Ryan, poses great risks. In addition, in this
process, "Advertising Exchanges" and "Data Management
Platforms" are included.
As you can see, the data obtained is
shared by advertising technology companies that perform different tasks in many
advertising platforms. While online behavioral advertising using this system
continues to use personal data in this way, it does not seem possible to fully
protect personal data, which happens on websites, each time a user loads the
web page. (Nilay Akan, p. 117-118)
Online behavioral advertising is
divided into 3 according to the way they obtain this data (McStay, 2011, p.
311-312).
First Party Web Based Behavioral Advertising:
It is the publication of a web
publisher by collecting information about their users' browsing activities from
their own websites or through the company they have agreed to collect data
from.
Third Party Web Based Behavioral Advertising:
It is the partnership of a website
publisher itself or an ad network company, collecting information about the
user's searches and advertising accordingly.
Third Party Internet Based Behavioral
Advertising:
This is generally the icons that come
to us as we browse the internet pages. They exist as long as we allow. Therefore, there is no
problem in terms of reliability.An internet service provider (ISP) publishes
the ad using internet traffic that passes through the gateway, scanning data
packets through deep packet inspection, combining data about appropriate ads.
In summary, data collection underpins the functioning of online behavioral
advertising. The practitioners claim that these are not identified as
individuals, they are users of the number one, and therefore there is no
situation that can create a problem of trust. Especially the claim that such
advertisements are subject to the permission of the people and that those who
do not want to report easily can be used most frequently. Because there is an
icon in the application that users can convey that they do not want such
advertisements. (Nilay Akan, 2020, p. 119-120)