Meebo Acquires Mindset Media to Augment Ad Relevance

Content-sharing and chat platform Meebo has acquired psychographic ad targeting firm Mindset Media. The deal is an attempt to increase the relevance of the ads Meebo serves to its users, and extract more revenue from advertisers as a result.

Operating in a similar fashion to behavioral data providers such as BlueKai, Mindset Media attempts to construct profiles and target ads based on a user’s personality type, rather than – or in addition to – behavioral or demographic data.

“Just knowing a user’s age, income, and the fact that they’re in market for a car isn’t going to predict whether they’re an Audi or BMW buyer,” explained Meebo COO Martin Green. “An Audi might appeal more to a creative personality, and a BMW to more of a performance mindset. If you can understand the person, you can choose which ad to serve.”

The technology will be integrated with Meebo’s existing advertiser offerings, which have been pitched largely to big brand display advertisers to date. The company hopes the integration of another layer of targeting data will increase user engagement with its existing ad formats, which include toolbar-based units installed on over 8,000 sites.

According to Green, trials conducted with Mindset Media’s technology resulted in a 30 percent lift in user response rates for brand-focused marketers. Meebo charges advertisers on a cost-per-engagement basis, meaning that uptick in user interaction should ultimately generate greater revenue for the firm.

Meebo has also invested in direct response offerings, Green said, though it remains to be seen what impact psychographic data might have.

A third of Meebo’s ad revenue now comes from direct response advertisers, and investment in those offerings was made in part to help fill inventory following rapid audience expansion, Green said. The company’s products reach a monthly average of 76 million U.S. users, according to comScore data, and it secured $27.5 million in new financing in December.

Following its integration with Meebo, Mindset will continue to serve third-party clients, which include numerous CPG advertisers. Previous Meebo advertisers have included LG, Starbucks, Sony, and Kellogg’s.