Glam Media using ad data to drive higher CPMs

VP Zamanian says ad buyers like aggregate data; some interested in user content

Glam Media has built one of the largest online ad networks targeted at women, with more than 450 Web sites ranging from its own flagship property, glam.com, to small blogs.

All of those sites collect valuable information on their users, and Glam is now using the data to sell targeted brand ads across its network, says Kiumarse Zamanian, vice president of advertising technologies.

"There's a tremendous amount of data we can collect about the ads and the users who see them," says Zamanian, who came to Glam from Yahoo.

That data lets Glam advertisers target very specific niches within its network of publishers, like the vertical it unveiled late last month focused on health and wellness. 

The company is balancing the goal of driving higher CPMs with an awareness of the privacy concerns of its users, Zamanian says.

During a panel discussion at a Digital Hollywood event in San Jose, he said that none of the data is personally identifiable information that can be tracked back to a user's name or email address.

While no Web video sites have had any luck monetizing user generated content, Glam advertisers are interested in getting their message out to individual blog sites, especially ones that provide product ratings or reviews.

Although we won't see luxury brands willing to put their ads on such sites, makers of consumer goods such as hair-care products are, Zamanian says.