Publishers demand openness in behavioural targeting

62.5 percent of European online publishers believe that consumer acceptance of behavioural targeting will be encouraged if companies are open with them about using their data, and ensure they then provide targeted and relevant ads, according to new research.

This figure was revealed in the second part of the 'New Rules of Revenue' survey undertaken by online advertising revenue specialist, Improve Digital.

In addition, 52.2 percent of respondents said that external parties should be able to use a publisher's audience data to better target advertising campaigns.

However, the transparency message continued with 90 percent of publishers saying that if digital marketing is to reach its potential, the sector must ensure that it provides comprehensive information that is easily understood by people outside the industry.

However, use of data must be balanced with privacy issues. 93.1 percent of publishers stated that the protection of their data was important or very important when working with multiple ad networks.

Despite this, 77.5 percent of publishers agreed that it was a significant problem to monitor which third party is collecting what audience data through cookies.