Jobzonen, a Danish job-search website, has begun using first-party data to tailor its display ads with listings geared towards “high-value” candidates.
The solution, Track & Trace, is a project of the Danish Publisher Network (DPN), a consortium of 11 publishers, including Jobzonen, using data-management platform (DMP) Krux. It’s what DPN believes is the first step towards moving print classified revenue into digital.
DPN said it worked to develop a solution in response to demand from advertisers who were not getting the targeted ads they wanted from third-party vendors, and sought first-party data for better results.
“As the publisher, selling more efficient media that reaches a target audience at precisely the right time and in the most relevant context makes our inventory significantly more valuable,” said Martin Jensen, head of DPN.
Track & Trace collects data from DPN publishers to identify potential interests, skills and job affinities of users. Display ads for Jobzonen can then target users who may have an interest in a specific job.
Krux said metrics for targeting go beyond what career-related content users access. For example, if a user determined to have a higher household income is also reading about business management topics, the Jobzonen ads they see may include specific CEO listings.
By introducing specific listings in their ads, Jobzonen aims to get the attention of more passive candidates. Clients buying a listing can expect to reach a wider audience than those who are actively looking for a job by searching Jobzonen.
After going live a few months ago, DPN said it has seen positive results. The consortium said it landed 20 new advertisers and has seen a 70% rise in retention rates overall and a 25% rise in CPM.
Development of Track & Trace began with a month’s work of collecting first-party data, which was divided into segments that could be packaged and offered to advertisers, Jensen said.
Jensen said a next step in the project will be adding second- and third-party data, from sources such as trade publications, to create more targeted results.
DPN has plans for Track & Trace beyond job listings, and has a broader goal of increasing revenue from online classifieds.
“From my point of view as a publisher, we need to move this classified market into digital,” Jensen said. Classified ads have traditionally been offline in Demark. “Big revenue is coming through real estate and job searching sites in print but as the consumers move into digital we need to find new revenue streams. The real estate and car segments will be the next step for this.”
The consortium is already meeting with realtors in Denmark to begin offering targeted listing there, he said.
Jensen also said clients have reported an improved applicant pool since the introduction of Track & Trace.
In selecting Krux, Jensen said DPN valued the company’s technical focus with no “double agenda” on the consortium’s user data. Specifically, Jensen said Krux offered a “very strong data protection module that makes it possible for us to identify who dropped which cookies on our publishers’ websites.”
Jensen said data points are anonymous and comply with privacy restrictions. Track & Trace uses cookies and does not have access to a user’s login or other personal information, he said.
