I love to travel. I love visiting new cities, staying in different hotels, people watching at the airport. I especially love watching local ads on television in whatever new city I am visiting. Knowing that every city has their own version of a local car dealership with their kitschy jingle never ceases to amuse me (don’t lie, you love them too). While they are entertaining, they are in no way relevant to my life. I’m not going to buy a car there, nor am I going to hire someone to replace my windows and siding in a different city from where I live.

Targeting is an important aspect of any advertising campaign. It doesn't matter how good your ad is, if it doesn't appeal to the right audience, it won't be effective. Plus, targeting allows for more efficient spending of your ad budget (basically a no brainer, right?)

So, here's a quick overview of the robust targeting options available to you in this new age of data. We'll touch on geographic, demographic, device/platform, contextual, behavioral, and retargeting.