New ad tool can read your mind AND predict the future (sort of)

by Gareth Jones, revolutionmagazine.com 12-Aug-09, 09:55

LONDON - OpenAmplify, the web 3.0 company, has launched technology that allows online advertisers to 'read the minds' of social networkers to predict if they are in the mood to purchase products.

The TopicIntentions tool analyses text on social media sites to identify consumer intentions and assess whether or not their purchasing decisions can be influenced.

Current keyword-bases targeting techniques can recognise that a web page is about Ford, but cannot distinguish if the comments on that page relate to buying, selling, servicing or cleaning a Ford car.

TopicIntentions (seen in action below) claims to be able to identify the subject of a conversation taking place on a social networking site and then link that subject to with the most likely related action of the consumer.

For example, TopicIntentions will be able to identify if a consumer who has written ‘have you seen Ford's new finance rates?' on Twitter is offering guidance, seeking advice or making a complaint.

The idea is that by helping marketers understand the intentions of those using social networks they will be able to deliver the right ad at the right moment to influence the consumer's decision.

"Social media has created environments in which users can express how they feel, what they are thinking and planning," said Mark Redgrave, chief executive of OpenAmplify. "TopicIntentions was created to gather and analyse this data so marketers can cost-effectively identify users who have expressed a specific intention to do something."