Marketers care first and foremost about reaching their target customer. Content (media) has traditionally been a proxy for reaching those consumers.

But that's all changing now, and it will adversely impact old media (such as broadcast and cable TV), which does not have strong audience targetting capabilities.

There is a philosophical shift on Madison Avenue, where major agency holding company media services operations say they have shifted from a mentality of "buying media," to one of "buying audiences," and that technology and automation have enabled them to accelerate that shift.

"Data is the fuel that drives today's audience targeting engines. Data-driven audience planning and targeting tools ultimately enable brands and their agencies to reach and target verified audiences of prospects that look like their best customers," David Helmreich, vice president-interactive markets at verified audience data provider TARGUSinfo writes in the report.

Rubicon described this shift as "advertising 3.0," and said it will really start to accelerate as publishers begin selling their "audiences - not just their sites, zones, brand and content."

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http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=117611