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IP Intelligence: Creating "Globally Local" Online Initiatives
The Internet has become one of the most significant business communications tools, enabling companies to reach out to today’s global audience in a more costeffective manner. Even though this medium provides an opportunity to become instantly global, companies need to define themselves on the Internet just as they would differentiate themselves in the local marketplace. Companies were initially caught up in the vast global opportunities afforded with the Internet – so much so that geographic boundaries seemed to disappear overnight. It sounded great on paper. However, in reality, geography plays a very important role in conducting business offline:
Internet Users Sport a More Global Complexion In March 2008, approximately 1.4 billion Internet users existed worldwide. (1) During the last eight years, however, the global complexion of the Internet has changed. Asia (38 percent) and Europe (28 percent) now capture essentially two-thirds of global Internet usage. (2) North America is now home to only 18 percent of all Internet users; whereas, in 2000, the United States alone claimed nearly 33 percent of Internet users worldwide. (3) Because the online world has become an integral part of day-to-day business, appealing to a mass online universe is no longer adequate. Businesses must now find innovative ways to reach and communicate with “global” audiences, but within their “local” communities. Furthermore, in the once boundary-less Internet universe, new restrictions and regulations are making companies take a hard look at how they secure and distribute content. When it comes to online content, a universal, all-thingsto- all-people approach simply doesn’t work anymore. To succeed online, businesses must localize content, advertising and communications to increase the reach, relevance and response to their messages. Companies also need to secure online content distribution in order to comply with licensing and copyright agreements as well as to obey customs and cultural boundaries. As global businesses take more holistic views of their online business initiatives, they are turning to IP Intelligence (anonymous data derived from analyzing an Internet user’s IP address, including city-level location and other information) to help them move closer to replicating real-time interaction in the offline world — most importantly, helping them remove the impediments of geographical distance. Businesses now realize the importance of engaging the global customer in a way that has previously been difficult in cyberspace. IP Intelligence delivers an in-depth view of the Internet that allows for more tailored messaging and content by forging the relationship between geography and business. Address Geographic Realities of Business with IP Intelligence Geographic realities of “doing business” won’t change just because companies are now conducting business online. Through its IP Intelligence technology, Digital Element helps companies deliver content localization, local search, targeted advertising, and digital rights management (DRM). Digital Element’s NetAcuity® IP Intelligence technology allows businesses to perfect audience segmentation capabilities and targeting based on a comprehensive set of parameters such as geographic location (country, region, state, city and zip code); connection speed; area code; Internet Service Provider (ISP); North American Industry Classification System (NAICS); domain name; demographics; company name; proxies; Designated Market Area (DMA)/Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); language; time zone; and longitude/latitude. By deploying NetAcuity, companies can accurately and anonymously pinpoint a person’s location down to the city level worldwide without being invasive. NetAcuity utilizes more than 20 different patent-pending methods that make it the recognized industry-standard in accurate IP Intelligence technology. Accuracy is the most important feature companies should look for when they evaluate IP Intelligence technology. This is the area where other similar technologies have previously fallen short in their drive to deliver the desired results. Digital Element strives to continually improve its accuracy levels. Recent third-party tests conducted by Keynote Systems, the global leader in on-demand test and measurement solutions for continuously improving the online experience, demonstrated a 100-percent accuracy rate for NetAcuity at the country level, as well as an exact match at the state level for those IP addresses located in the United States. Additionally, the Keynote technology assessment graded results down to a city level, and NetAcuity delivered 97 percent accuracy. Build a “Globally Local” Online Initiative Below are four areas where companies can utilize NetAcuity to create “globally local” online initiatives:
Worldwide Corporate Success with IP Intelligence Companies such as CinemaNow, an innovator in digital entertainment technology delivering high-quality Hollywood movies and TV shows across multiple platforms, and ABCSearch, the largest privately held pay-per-click (PPC) ad network, are successfully using NetAcuity to harness online consumer information and apply it to the “the new way of doing business.” CinemaNow CinemaNow is the leading destination for the authorized distribution of feature films and video on the Internet. The company recently expanded into the businessto- business sector, working with several manufacturers to integrate its technology into consumer-electronic devices where it acts as the de-facto service for video-ondemand stores. Looking for the most accurate and reliable technology on the market, CinemaNow chose NetAcuity to integrate as part of its PatchBay™ platform to allow for pay-perview delivery of online content and the management of digital rights, as well as user profiling and report generation. By leveraging IP Intelligence, CinemaNow restricts distribution based on geographical parameters. Furthermore, with international fraud on the rise, CinemaNow has now established a front-line barrier, denying access to those geographical areas with the highest rate of this type of criminal activity. With NetAcuity, CinemaNow ensures its distribution partners that it is using a major- studio approved and reliable solution and that their access rights are protected, which helps the company as it continues to build out its continually expanding licensing portfolio. The company sees NetAcuity as an absolute necessity for DRM. CinemaNow executives feel that their company cannot be in business without it — it is not a matter of increasing sales; the company can’t distribute films without it. ABCSearch ABCSearch has created a strong presence in the marketplace with more than 6 billion searches per month throughout its entire PPC network of targeted search engines and niche-specific directories. The company needed to provide more accurate targeting for its global advertisers in order to continue delivering high conversion rates for its worldwide clients. ABCSearch made the switch to NetAcuity in order to meet its goal of having ads targeted as efficiently and effectively as possible to its advertisers’ audiences. ABCSearch executives understood their advertisers relied on geotargeting to accurately bring their ads to specific locations around the world, and they expected the company to use the most accurate and reliable IP Intelligence available. By incorporating NetAcuity, ABCSearch gives its clients the solution that will reduce costs and help them achieve their online advertising goals by delivering high conversion rates and ultimately a substantial return on their investment. By automatically building IP Intelligence into any online strategy, companies can gain a competitive advantage as they begin to build solid, global relationships based on connecting with people in their local community – and within the parameters of when, where and how they want to be reached as well as providing relevant, personalized information that resonates with their culture and lifestyle. 1. Internet World Stats, “World Internet 1. Users and Population Stats,” March
2008, Accessed May 6, 2008, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm. Published - May 2008 ClientSide
News Magazine - www.clientsidenews.com
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