ChoiceStream Releases November Audience Cost Calendar

Impressions Show that Buying Grows More Unified as the Holidays Approach

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ChoiceStream, a leading innovator in targeted advertising solutions, today announced the second installment of its monthly Audience Cost Calendar. Powered by the CRUNCH Audience Cost Index, the Audience Cost Calendar is a monthly aggregation of impressions traded on digital ad exchanges. The calendar provides marketers with a snapshot of how online audience segment costs are trending based on seasonality. This month’s calendar explores holiday shopping related segments, among others, helping marketers to target their ideal audience during the most competitive shopping season.

“Segment buying seems to be growing more unified”

Each month ChoiceStream looks at the previous month’s data and highlights the high-demand audience segments relevant to that time of year. The November Audience Cost Calendar is calculated using October data. The numbers represented in the Audience Cost Calendar represent the relative media costs of reaching people in a specific audience. A relative cost indexing above 100 represents a segment trading at an above average cost, while those below 100 are selling for less than the average cost.

“Segment buying seems to be growing more unified,” said Bill Guild, Vice President, Product Management and Marketing. “As all advertisers compete for similar intents during the holiday shopping season, some segments are becoming considerably more expensive while others are dropping in relative cost. This is an opportunity for companies to focus on undiscovered audiences who would be receptive to their respective ads.”

Key findings from the November Audience Cost Calendar focus on topical audience segments, particularly on how the automotive, holiday and vacation travel, and holiday shopping segments trended in October.

October – Automotive related segments

Audiences interested in hybrid and sport cars were in relatively high demand during the month of October, possibly due to high gas prices, while shoppers for SUVs, minivans, and crossovers were less costly.

Audience Segment	Relative Cost Index	Change from September
Hybrid Cars	113	+24%
Sports Cars	112	+19%
Other Vehicles	108	-6%
Make & Model	103	-9%
SUV/Minivan/Van/Crossover	100	-17%

November – Holiday and Vacation Travel related segments

The index shows that consumers got an early start on travel planning as reflected in the overall growth of segment demand from advertisers. Also, vacation packages were sought after, indicating that consumers are already booking trips to their favorite winter and spring vacation destinations.

Audience Segment	Relative Cost Index	Change from September
Travel Hospitality & Restaurant	141	+18%
Vacation Packages	137	+17%
Trips & Getaways	135	+20%
Flights	130	+14%
Cruises	110	+8%

December – Holiday Shopping related segments

No longer is gift giving season limited to the weeks between Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday as indicated by the gift giving holidays segment, which jumped in October. Advertiser perception of consumer confidence seems to be positive as pointed out by credit and credit cards segments, which jumped up the chart in October.

Audience Segment	Relative Cost Index	Change from September
Gift Giving Holidays	156	+60%
Credit & Credit Cards	164	+49%

To view the infographic and the most active risers and fallers for the month of November, take a look at ChoiceStream’s Audience Cost Calendar infographic here.

About ChoiceStream, Inc.

ChoiceStream provides personalized advertising solutions that are proven to increase revenue and customer engagement for today’s leading brands. For more than ten years, brands have relied on ChoiceStream to create a more engaging, personally relevant experience for their consumers. By transforming audience behavior into intelligence, ChoiceStream is able to help today’s biggest brands target their most qualified prospects with the right advertisements. For more information, visit www.choicestream.com. Interact on our blog at http://www.choicestream.com/newsfeed/blog/ and follow us on Twitter @ChoiceStream.