The User Experience community faces an all-new challenge in the rise of hyper-personalized web content, which allows sites to serve targeted messages to individual users based on behavioral or demographic data. While the technologies that support targeting grow more powerful by the day, the UX and content strategies behind them are often lacking -- or nonexistent. This has resulted in something we’ve all experienced online at one time or another: the creepy targeted ad. It’s time to fight back. While targeted marketing isn't going anywhere soon, the advent of Web Experience Management systems has democratized the landscape, meaning more clients have the ability to design personalized digital experiences. By re-framing the motivations behind targeting, UX designers have a significant opportunity to direct this power in ways that are user-centric, not marketer-centric. In this talk we’ll cover new tools and techniques to get started in the effort to take back personalized content for Good.

1. IT’S GETTING PERSONAL // THE RISE OF
USER EXPERIENCES
HYPER-TARGETED
BY COLIN EAGAN, M.S.

2. COLIN EAGAN
PLEASED TO MEET YOU.
EXPERIENCE DESIGNER | WASHINGTON, D.C.
@colineags #uxpa2015

3. (Today’s Topic)

4. TODAY WE WILL:
EXPLORE AN EXCITING NEW UX POWER:
TARGETED USER CONTENT
LEARN HOW TO USE IT
FOR GOOD OR FOR EVIL
LEAVE YOU WITH A CHOICE

5. BUT FIRST, SOME
NUMBERS
Everyone loves numbers.

6. Average number of times the online activity of an
average internet user is tracked daily
Source: Acxiom Corp

7. Yearly value to Facebook of a female user who is
“very active” on the site (males are worth $22.09).
Facebook has 1.44 Billion Users as of Q1 2015.
Source: Acxiom Corp

8. What a “relatively inactive” female user is worth to
Facebook per year (inactive males are worth $9.09)
Source: Acxiom Corp

9. ALL OF THESE NUMBERS HAVE
SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE VALUE OF
USER TARGETING
Feeling small?

10. WHAT IS TARGETING?
AND WHY DO I CARE.
Glad you asked.

11. •
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The Classic Example: Amazon has targeted users based on
data for years.
WHAT IS HYPER-TARGETED CONTENT?
NOTHING NEW.

12. TARGETED = CUSTOMIZED BASED ON DATA

13. FOR GOOD…

14. Source: Flashtalking Online Advertising. http://www.flashtalking.com/us/targeted-ads/
FOR NOT SO GOOD…

15. ALSO KNOWN AS
STALKER ADS
As in upon seeing one, you might feel a bit like this…

16. Source:OverlyAttachedGirlfriend

17. Source:OverlyAttachedBoyfriend

18. TARGETING THAT LEAVES A BAD TASTE

20. •
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Source: Motley Fool, June 18, 2015
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/06/18/twitter-
starts-using-your-apps-to-target-ads.aspx
AS OF LAST WEEK…
TWITTER USES YOUR APPS TO TARGET ADS

21. YAHOO’S HOMEPAGE IS JUST PRETY MUCH ALL TARGETING
(NOT THAT YOU GO THERE ANYWAY)
Source: AdThis.com

22. WHAT ABOUT FACEBOOK TARGETING?
DO YOU TRUST THEM?

23. BELGIUM DOESN’T…

24. BACKLASH: COOKIES ARE CLOSELY REGULATED IN THE E.U.

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Source: Wall Street Journal.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304704504579432
823496404570
BACKLASH: MORE AND MORE USERS ARE BLOCKING COOKIES

26. BACKLASH: GHOSTERY CAN BLOCK OVER 1900 TRACKERS

28. •
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PRIVACY FIX AP
http://adage.com/article/digital/worth-facebook-google/293042/

29. BUT ITS HARD TO RUN…
Via CBS News December 29, 2014, 12:09 PM

30. EVEN WORSE.

31. “INADVERTANT ALGORITHMIC CRUELTY”

32. WITH POWER COMES
RESPONSIBILITY.

33. AND YET DESPITE ALL THAT…

34. IF YOU ASK TEN MARKETERS…

35. 9/10 MARKETERS CAN AGREE!

36. HOWEVER IF YOU LOOK AT SPEND…

37. MARKETING $$ IS HIGHLY SCEWED
$92
$1

38. MARKETING $$ IS HIGHLY SCEWED
$92
*TODAY WE
ARE TALKING
ABOUT THIS
EMPTY WHITE
SPACE HERE

39. THERE ARE PLENTY OF TALKS
YOU CAN ATTEND ON ONLINE
BEHAVIORAL ADVERSITING.
MOST OF THEM MAKE ME
SAD.
THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

40. THIS TALK IS ABOUT
PERSONALIZED UX
ON YOUR OWN WEBSITE
INTELLIGENTLY DESIGNING

41. OK, GREAT.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN.

42. •
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WHAT’S CHANGED FOR UX PEROPLE:
ENTER THE “EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”

43. LET YOU CREATE TARGETED VERSIONS OF YOUR OWN SITE

44. JUST A FEW GLOBAL BRANDS USING SOME KIND OF “EMS” TODAY

45. OPEN SOURCE TOO, PEOPLE!

46. IF YOU’RE NOT USING
TARGETING YET, OR YOUR
CLIENTS AREN’T YET,
CHANCES ARE THAT WILL
CHANGE QUICKLY. AND YOU
NEED TO BE PREPARED.

47. YOU WILL HAVE
A CHOICE.

48. WHAT WE’LL LOOK AT NEXT

49. TARGETING STRATEGY
STEP 1 | DO WE EVEN NEED TARGETING?
Does the pool have water in it?

50. GOOD REASONS TO TARGET
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WHAT TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU START
BAD REASONS TO TARGET

51. REMEMBER!
TARGETING ITSELF IS NOT A GOAL. IT’S JUST
ANOTHER TOOL IN THE TOOL BOX.

52. EXAMPLE: CONTENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES

53. AUDIENCE SEGMENTS
STEP 2 | WHO ARE WE TALKING TO?
Once you have your mission, you can
begin segmenting your audience.

54. WHAT’S A SEGMENT?

55. SEGMENTS ARE DETERMINED BY DATA
BEHAVIORAL TRAITS
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DEMOGRAPHIC TRAITS
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56. USER DATA: TWO TYPES TO KNOW ABOUT

57. SOME DATA IS BETTER THAN OTHERS
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58. SOME IS BETTER THAN OTHERS.
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DARK ARTS HAPPY PLACE

59. BIG BROKER IS WATCHING YOU.
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Source:
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/data-
brokers-call-transparency-accountability-report-federal-trade-
commission-may-2014/140527databrokerreport.pdf

60. BIG BROKER IS WATCHING YOU.
•
•

61. RACE
GENDER
AGE
OCCUPATION
MARITAL STATUS
POLITICAL AFFILIATION
HOME OWNERSHIP
VEHICLE OWNERSHIP

62. GAMBLER
SMOKER
GUN PURCHASER
“BIBLE LIFESTYLE”
SPORTY LIVING
BIKER / HELL’S ANGELS
ALLERGY SUFFERER
“LEANS LEFT”
FINANCIALLY CHALLENGED
PLUS-SIZE APPAREL
“DIABETES INTEREST”

63. RETARGETING
TARGETING ON CRACK!
•
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Source: Mashable. http://mashable.com/2011/08/04/ad-targeting-stalking/
Not to mention…

64. •
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*Source: HEC, Carlson Wagonlit
LESSONS!

65. LET’S PRETEND…
THIS IS ALL GETTING A BIT ABSTRACT, SO

67. *Source: HEC, Carlson Wagonlit
SO WE DO SOME RESEARCH…

68. WHAT CONTENT SHOULD WE CREATE?

71. •
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IDENTIFYING SEGMENTS FOR PILOT

72. EXAMPLE: SETTING UP A SEGMENT IN ADOBE
Credit: Adobe

73. EXAMPLE: SEGMENTS & CAMPAIGN WORKSHEET
Credit: ICF Interactive

74. Credit: ICF Interactive
EXAMPLE: TARGETING USE CASE

75. RULES & CAMPAIGNS
STEP 3 | WHAT ARE WE GOING TO SAY?
We know who we want to talk to.
Now how and when do we say it?

76. OUR PILOT CAMPAIGN: IDEAS TO SHOW SR EXECS
If we knew they were visiting
our site, what would we say?

77. OUR SITE: DETERMINING TARGETABLE ZONES

78. Credit: ICF Interactive
TARGETED CONTENT MODEL: FOUR KEY TYPES
Task at Hand
Big Picture

79. Credit: ICF Interactive
APPLYING THE MODEL: WHAT TO SHOW SR EXECS
If Sr Exec, Then Show:

80. DEFAULT STATE: WE DON’T KNOW WHO USER IS

81. IF SR. EXEC FEMALE: TARGETING CAMPAIGN SHOWS THIS:

82. IF SR. EXEC MALE: TARGETING CAMPAIGN SHOWS THIS:

83. Credit: ICF Interactive
EXAMPLE: TARGETING ZONE CHART

84. CONTENT MODELING
AND NOW LET’S PAUSE FOR A BRIEF WORD ON
How does the system “know” what
content to show someone?

85. TAGGING & TAXONOMIES:
CREATING SEMANTICALLY RICH CONTENT
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86. Credit: Sara Wachter Boettcher
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EXAMPLE: BASIC HIGH-LEVEL CONTENT MODEL

87. A BIT MORE COMPLEX…
Credit: ICF Interactive

88. TESTING & ANALYTICS
STEP 4 | HOW DO WE KNOW IT WORKS?
The “so what.”

89. DOES IT WORK?
Personalization ability is only as good as your ability to measure it. KPIs are key to
proving that targeting is improving your business goals. Examples:
Agency TBG now estimates that their clients who implement personalized content
can see a 10-20% lift in key performance indicators, such as sales.1
By adding personalized recommendations to it’s online store, shoemaker Rockport
reported an increase in average order value by 32% and conversion rate by 10%. 2
On the B2B side, the data backup firm Iron Mountain was able to increase their
referrals for health care clients by an impressive 123% when they showed a
personalized message on their homepage, according to partner Demandbase.3
1 Berndt, John. “Personalization Mechanics: Targeted Content for Web Teams of All Sizes.” March 10, 2015.
2 “Predictions 2015: Invest in Customer Insights To Activate Contextual Marketing.” Forrester Research. November 10, 2014.
3 Demandbase also reported a 115% increase in the small to medium business segment using a similar approach. Source:
Strohmeyer, Robert. “Driving Conversion Through B2B Personalization.” March 5, 2015.

90. EXAMPLE: CHILDREN’S NATIONAL REDESIGN BY TBG
1 TBG reported 15% increase in page views, and a 161.45% increase in session duration.
The new site also increased site-based donations by 54%. You can read the complete case
study at http://www.berndtgroup.net/projects/portfolio/childrens-national-website-
redesign-and-cms-implementation

91. BUT WILL IT WORK FOR ME?
JUST A FEW NON-TECH BRANDS THAT TARGET
Source: Forrester Research. November 10, 2014. Predictions 2015: Invest In Customer Insights To Activate Contextual Marketing

92. READY TO START?
WHAT’S THAT? YOU’RE CONVINCED AND TOTALLY
Just a few things to consider
before you hurt yourself…

93. YOU MAY STILL NEED SOME WORK IF…
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BEST PRACTICES FOR WHEN YOU’RE READY
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94. REMEMBER: IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLEX.
QUESTION
ANSWER
Source: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/articles/one-to-one-personalisation-will-boost-conversion-rates/646

95. AND YOU TOO
CAN TAKE BACK
TARGETED
CONTENT
FOR GOOD.

96. THANK
YOU

97. DESIGNING EXPERIENCES FOR
EMERGENT SITUATIONS
CRISIS UX
BY COLIN EAGAN, M.S.
If you enjoyed this segment, please join
us again Thursday at 9:00 for:
!