The fact is people share a limited amount of information publicly via social media and a lot of people list information that is not accurate. I have a number of friends that claim to live somewhere they don’t actually live or say that they are married when they are not, etc. People don’t take social profiles too seriously especially not on Facebook. Therefore, the best way to understand what a user is looking for or interested in is by knowing their behavior online. The social data can in many ways supplement this by profiling someone’s gender or age group but behavioral data is surely king when it comes to targeting online. It’s how Google built its empire beginning with search and it’s how Amazon is able to sustain a $500 million advertising business on top of its e-commerce offerings.

Analyzing behavior is precisely the advantage of the Internet versus traditional forms of media such as television, print and radio where there is no interaction taking place. Therefore it is about time that advertisers take notice but do so in a way that doesn’t raise concerns about privacy. After all, it benefits both user and advertiser because people would much rather see an ad that is relevant to them and their needs and advertisers want as much ROI as possible.

A friend of mine and someone that I used to work with recently launched a proprietary interactive video platform called ADVNTR. Imagine being able to direct the sequence of events within video. Basically you have the authority and creative license to pick and choose the way things unfold. It brings engagement to a whole other level. It started with music videos but the possibilities are endless. There is the potential to learn much more about your audience and even implement a gaming component. Brands can leverage this type of technology while partnering with the right content owners and create a compelling experience. There’s an opportunity to go beyond video advertisements and product placements and at the same time not deliver obvious branded content that feels like a commercial for your product or service all the way through. If you are interested in learning more about ADVNTR and how it can help your content and/or brand check out Ochre.

The 2012 SF Music Tech Summit was a fantastic, phenomenal and truly beneficial event! It was emané’s first time attending and it surely won’t be the last. The event was filled with music, tech and marketing professionals and entrepreneurs as well as musicians and artists. Some compelling panels included Marketing Digital Music where panelists discussed the exciting new tools out there for optimizing your digital footprint as an artist and Live: From Concert to Couch where panelists discussed the monetization opportunity for artists to stream low production concerts live to fans all over the world. Check out Crowdboosterand StageIt. Panel discussions were followed by cocktails at Hotel Kabuki and an after party at Yoshi’s with a performance by Pomplamoose. It was a very exciting event and many powerful connections were made. It truly inspired me and motivated me to up the ante. Stay tuned for more regular posts and news courtesy of emané. I promise!

emané is excited to attend its first MIDEM at Cannes, France. MIDEM is a global music conference and network that has brands, marketers, labels, artists, publishing companies and tech companies which represented 78 countries this year.