Marketers Reach Out to Loyal Customers†

As Holidays Near, Retailers Tap Statistical Models, Relying More on Targeted Ads Than on Shotgun Approach

Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2008 — With the critical holiday-sales season at hand, there's a new character joining Santa and his elves on the advertising circuit: the analytics geek.

It's number-crunching time. Marketers, their ad budgets under increased scrutiny amid the economic downturn, are mining their customer databases and reaching out to loyal consumers with targeted ads, instead of relying on the traditional yuletide blitz.